A Florida mother accused of killing her two-year-old son initially told authorities he had been abducted before admitting to investigators she hit the toddler before leaving him in the woods, police said.
Authorities charged Charisse Stinson, 21, with first-degree murder on Tuesday after she told Largo Police officers that she hit her son, Jordan Belliveau.
Fox 13 reported that Stinson allegedly told officers her son sustained an “unexplained serious injury” to his leg and suffered an injury to his face after she struck him using the back of her hand out of “frustration.”
Investigators say the force of the blow caused Belliveau to hit his head against a wall, causing him to suffer from multiple seizures throughout the evening, WSVN reported.
Detectives say as Belliveau’s health began to decline, his mother carried him to a wooded area and then abandoned him. Police discovered Belliveau’s body Tuesday, although it is unclear whether he was alive when Stinson abandoned him.
When authorities initially questioned Stinson, she told them that a man named “Antwan” offered to give her and her son a ride before he knocked her unconscious with a blow to the face. She added that the man left with the boy when she woke up in the woods several hours later.
Police issued an Amber Alert on Sunday to search for the boy before they found him dead in the woods.
Investigators say they have doubts about whether “Antwan” is a real person in light of Stinson’s statement to the police.
A vigil for the two-year-old is scheduled for Wednesday at 5 p.m. in Largo. Stinson is expected to make her initial court appearance Wednesday at Pinellas County Courthouse in Clearwater.