Friday, June 14, 2013 | 12:13 p.m.
Detrail Young, 24, was arrested June 13, 2013, on counts of murder and child abuse after the 16-month-old child he was watching died at University Medical Center earlier this week.
A Las Vegas man has been arrested on counts of murder and child abuse after a 16-month-old child he was watching died Thursday at University Medical Center.
Detrail Young, 24, was arrested Thursday. The girl, whose name was not released, was transported to the hospital by ambulance late Tuesday night after Young’s girlfriend discovered the child was not breathing, according to a Metro Police report.
The child was on life support when police arrived, and doctors reported injuries consistent with child abuse, including retinal hemorrhages, a subdural hematoma, a possible liver laceration and bruises on her chest, neck and head, the police report said.
A doctor told police the hemorrhages were signs of an acceleration and deceleration movement indicative of abusive head trauma, according to the report.
Young had been watching the child Tuesday night at an apartment in the 3600 block of East Owens Avenue, near Pecos Road, while his girlfriend, the cousin of the child’s biological mother, was at work, police said.
Young said he put the child to bed about 9 p.m. Tuesday after she started falling asleep while sitting up, according to the report.
When his girlfriend returned home from work a short time later, she found the child unresponsive and called 911, police said.
During initial questioning, Young denied mistreating or causing any injuries to the child, the report said. In a follow-up polygraph exam, Young said he became frustrated with the child when she wouldn’t stop crying Tuesday night, the report said.
When asked by police to re-enact the events of that night with a doll, Young picked it up, held it at arms length and shook it in a back-and-forth manner, asking, “Why’s you crying like that?” and “What’s wrong with you?” according to the police report.
In a separate interview, Young’s girlfriend told police she had witnessed Young shake the child on two separate occasions to get her to stop crying.
The girlfriend told police she didn’t believe the shaking was enough to harm the child but told Young to stop, according to the report.
Young was being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center.
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