LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio — EDITOR'S NOTE - Previous versions of this story reported the child was 4 weeks old; on Monday the Lucas County Coroner's Office said the baby was 3 weeks old.
A man was arrested Sept. 8 after police say he cruelly abused his 3-week-old child, who died Sept. 12.
Police say Nicholas Beckford, 22, shook the baby to the point of serious physical harm. The baby suffered severe brain damage and bleeding in the eyes, according to police and hospital staff.
The alleged incident happened on Monday, Sept. 7 and the baby died on Saturday, Sept. 12, according to police.
Beckford first was charged with child endangering when arrested on Sept. 8. Later, he was charged with murder.
According to an autopsy report from Lucas County Deputy Coroner Jeffery Hudson, 3-week-old Ezykyiel Beckford died from abusive head trauma and the coroner ruled the death a homicide.
No other information regarding the child has been released by the coroner's office.
Beckford was arraigned via Zoom on Sept. 30. He entered a plea of not guilty to charges of murder, endangering children and felonious assault.
His bond was set at $250,000. Beckford's next appearance will be a pretrial hearing on Oct. 21.
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