Indiana Suspect Charged with Attempted Murder of Toddler Stepson

A suspect in Indiana was charged with attempted murder on Monday after he allegedly tried to kill his 18-month-old stepson.

A news release issued by the prosecutor’s office in Jefferson County, Indiana, said that on June 9 a child was brought to the Riley Children’s Hospital suffering from compression fractures to his spine.

The boy’s mother reportedly told authorities that Christopher Ray Keller, 36, was responsible for the child’s injuries and said Keller told her he was unhappy watching him because the boy cried constantly.

Reports said the mother left the child with Keller on June 7 while she went to work, and the next day she found his body had bruising, bite marks, and a portion of hair missing from his scalp. However, Keller blamed the injuries on “rough housing” between the small child and another two-year-old boy.

On August 5, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department obtained new video evidence on an SD card that contained more than 11 hours of video showing the physical abuse of the child. The video allegedly showed Keller beating the child’s head with his hand and ordering the two-year-old to jump up and down on top of him.

Reports said Keller is currently being held at the Jefferson County Jail and that his bail was set at $100,000.

In a similar instance last week, a father in Orlando, Florida, was charged with attempted murder for allegedly attempting to smother his four-year-old daughter and forcing her to drink bleach.

Bodycam footage showed the father, Michael Dublin, telling police that the child “is good” as emergency crews worked to revive the girl.

“Children at the scene described Dublin smothering his four-year-old daughter and then forcing her to drink bleach flavored with some sort of sweet drink mix from a water bottle,” Breitbart News reported.

The report said relatives were able to retrieve the little girl’s body and perform CPR until emergency responders arrived at the scene. Relatives also claimed that Dublin is bipoloar and schizophrenic and had recently been told by his ex that she did not want to renew their relationship.