Just before noon Monday, police were called to a home in the 2500 block of South Sheridan Boulevard on a report of a missing 2-year-old.
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The man accused of murdering his 2-year-old cousin appeared before a judge on Wednesday two days after the toddler was found unconscious in a Lakewood apartment.
Authorities said the child was unresponsive and appeared to have suffered trauma to the neck.
Davis says police are investigating but they don’t know whether the incident was an accident or a crime. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital, KUSA reported. He was found after officers and family members searched the area and the apartment.
Lakewood police spokesman Steve Davis said Tuesday that 21-year-old Roman Paul Morales, an acquaintance of the boy’s mother, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder after questioning. Investigators subsequently determined that Morales’ statements were false and took him into custody.
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Morales is due in court at 10 a.m. His next appearance is scheduled for September 29, in Division D of the Jefferson County Court where he is expected to be formally charged.
