A previous story on the March Jr. and Dawson can be seen in the player above.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A couple suspected in the death of an 8-month-old were charged Wednesday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
A grand jury indicted Savanna Dawson and Kyrios March Jr. on charges of involuntary manslaughter and three counts of endangering children.
The couple is accused of causing the death of 8-month-old Marquel Smith, who died of blunt force trauma, according to the Franklin County coroner. The child had suffered severe head injuries, court records said, and the coroner noted the injuries were consistent with abuse and not accidental.
Columbus police were called Jan. 9 to the 2400 block of Hiawatha Street. The child was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in critical condition and pronounced dead later that day.
Doctors told police the child had numerous broken bones, some of which had started healing, and that the right leg had an acute fracture. Court documents say that during interviews with detectives, Dawson and March, Dawson’s boyfriend, said they were not sure how the boy received so many injuries, telling them that other children in the home may have been the cause.
March and Dawson left the Columbus area and were found on Jan. 13 in New Straitsville. They were taken into custody without incident by Perry County sheriff’s deputies, booked into the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail in Nelsonville and extradited to Columbus.
An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Friday morning.
