Florida father allegedly beat baby to death because he was “stressed”

MELBOURNE, Florida. – A 25-year-old man was arrested in Melbourne after his six-week-old son died from a severe brain injury, police said.

Edrick Lamar Davis is charged with first-degree murder of a child and aggravated child abuse.

According to Melbourne Police, officers responded to a home on Mount Carmel Lane at around 11am on June 10 to reports that the child was not breathing. After attempts at resuscitation were made, paramedics took the baby to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

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The Brevard County Medical Examiner’s Office later classified the case as a homicide after an autopsy revealed a severe brain injury that caused the child’s death. During an interview, Davis initially denied any knowledge of how the injury occurred, but eventually admitted to hitting the baby, investigators said.

In an affidavit, police said Davis admitted that he kneed the baby’s mother in the back of the head at least twice while she was in the shower because the baby was fussing and crying, which “stressed” him out.

Police arrested Davis without incident on Wednesday. He was booked into the Brevard County Jail without bail.

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