Investigators believe a 4-year-old boy killed in DeKalb County over the weekend was beaten to death, according to arrest warrants released Monday.
The child’s mother was arrested and charged with his murder, according to DeKalb police, and a man also charged with murder remains on the run.
On Saturday, officers were called to a location off Candler Road, where they found the boy in critical condition, police stated in a news release. Despite lifesaving efforts, the child died after being taken to the hospital.
On Tuesday, the boy was identified as Jessiah Sasfras by the DeKalb medical examiner.
According to arrest warrants, Javonte Harris caused the death by “punching the child and causing other injuries.” The child had been beaten in the face, the warrant states. Harris was charged with murder and cruelty to children in the first degree, but his whereabouts are unknown.
The child’s 25-year-old mother, Malisha Sasfras, was arrested and also charged with felony murder and cruelty to children, police said. She remained Monday in the DeKalb jail, booking records show.
Sasfras is accused of “being a party of the crime and allowing Mr. Javonte Harris to continue to abuse the child till death,” her arrest warrant states. She allegedly allowed Harris to abuse the child several times in the days leading up to his death, according to her warrant.
Court records show Malisha Sasfras lives in the Candler Forest apartment complex on Candler Road.
Anyone with information on Harris is asked to call 911 or the DeKalb County Special Victims Unit at 770-724-7710.
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