Virginia Beach, Va. - A man facing murder charges after his 2-month-old son died in June 2015 appeared in court on Thursday for a preliminary hearing.
Deandre Routt was charged with second-degree murder and child abuse after 2-month-old J'dyn’s death.
After Routt’s arrest, court documents revealed that the J'dyn’s mother, Cassandra Hunter, had taken the baby to Portsmouth Naval Medical Center in late May with a large knot on his head. J'dyn died on June 4th as a result of his injuries.
Hunter said the injuries occurred when he was in the care of his father, Deandre Routt.
In court on Thursday, detectives said Routt told them two different stories about how J'dyn was injured.
The day the baby went to the hospital, Routt said J'dyn had rolled off of the couch and hit his head on the coffee table.
But on the day the baby died, Routt said that he was flinging J'dyn around playfully in a blanket but he fell out and hit the stove and then the floor.
Doctors testified, saying neither story was consistent with the baby’s injuries.
Routt’s charges were certified to a Grand Jury, though the 2nd Degree Murder charge was dropped and re-added under a different statute.
Hunter spoke to NewsChannel 3’s Nadeen Yanes after the hearing on Thursday. She says she believes J'dyn’s death was an accident and that she stands by Routt.
"I don't know what to say. It's just hard to relive it over and over again," says Hunter. "I know it was an accident. He doesn't have to tell me it's an accident because I know."
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