The parents of a 3-year-old Pennsylvania boy found dead, suffering with bone fractures, have been charged with his killing, Us Weekly has learned.
Lagomau Malu was arrested by Allegheny County Police on Wednesday, March 11, and charged with criminal homicide. She called 911 to her home in Penn Hills just before 1 p.m. after finding her toddler son had stopped breathing.
When cops arrived at her home, they found the 23-year-old mother performing chest compressions on her unresponsive child, identified as Devin Goodson.
Goodson was rushed to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and was declared dead within the hour.
Malu shared the child with her boyfriend, Adam Chirico, police said.
Chirico, 32, has also been arrested, but faces less serious charges.
Doctors at the hospital who treated Goodson told police he had numerous bone fractures, indicating the child endured “a significant level of violence,” according to police. Nine of the fractures were healing while two others were recently inflicted, according to investigators.
The boy had breaks in his right arm, both feet, his hands and collarbone, reported TribLive.
Malu allegedly told police she was “the angry one” between the two parents and regularly hit the boy with her hands. She would also strike the child with wooden drumsticks.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports she initially said she didn’t know what had happened to her son but eventually admitted “hitting him in the face two to three times” because he’d had an accident the night before.
She said he screamed and fell down, so she put him in a diaper and then put him to bed. He was unresponsive the next morning. Malu said she uses “physical discipline” on the boy because he’s “the problem.” She also said she would hit the child until he screamed, but he “doesn’t care.”
While speaking to Chirico, he acknowledged being aware of the alleged abuse and said when he discovered the boy was dead on Wednesday, he asked that Malu hold off on calling 911 until after he and their youngest child could leave.
Malu is also charged with aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children.
Chirico has been charged with endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person.
Malu is being held in the Allegheny County Jail. Information on her bond was unavailable. Chirico was released without bail.
Neither had entered pleas to the charges they face as of Tuesday, March 17, and it was unknown who their lawyers might be.
If you suspect child abuse, please call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit ChildHelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential, and the hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
