MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man has been arraigned on charges that he beat his girlfriend's 2-year-old son to death.
Anthony Andrews was indicted by a Shelby County Grand Jury on May 9, 2024, on charges of first degree murder and aggravated child abuse. He is currently in the Shelby County Jail on $250,000 bond.
According to Shelby County court records, officers and EMTs responded to the 2600 block of Margot Street just before 6 a.m. Monday, Sept. 4, 2023, where they found the two-year-old boy unresponsive, bruised and bleeding from the mouth. The child was taken to the hospital but later died.
According to the affidavit, the child's mother said he was left in the care of her boyfriend, Andrews, Sunday night while she slept. She said she had recently noticed bruising and marks on him when left with Andrews, but he told her it was because the child fell out of bed. The affidavit said she told investigators she saw Andrews hitting the child with a belt and a braided dog toy as recently as a few weeks ago.
According to the affidavit, Andrews admitted to police he hit the child "harder than he should have" the previous week, and hit him seven or eight times in the face and back with a braided dog toy Sunday night, throwing him in a corner of the house.
He then said he put the child in bed, when the boy fell out several minutes later, unresponsive.
