Gary Man Charged with Murder of 2-Year-Old Boy After Fatal Beating

Ricky Larkin, 32, was charged with the murder of two-year-old Je’Loni Smith, who died from a beating. The incident occurred on Monday when Gary police responded to a reported drowning. However, they found no evidence of drowning, as the child was dry and the bathtub contained only eight inches of water, according to

FOX59.

Despite Larkin’s assertion that the young boy had drowned, authorities found the circumstances suspicious, pointing to evidence such as an in-disarray bed and a dried brown stain with chunks on the bedding, detailed by

WISH TV

, while Gary detectives were led to a small aluminum baseball bat collected for evidence, placed next to the bed, these details contributing to the mounting suspicion of Larkin’s narrative. Je’Loni Smith unfortunately was pronounced dead at Methodist Northlake Hospital; his mother, who had suffered a drug overdose the day before and was hospitalized, recounted to police her intermittent romantic relationship with Larkin and her worry for her children’s safety in his care.

According to a statement obtained by

ABC 7 Chicago

, an autopsy revealed that the child had not drowned but instead endured blunt force trauma, exhibiting injuries of being struck in the face and head, along with abrasions on his neck and chest, a laceration to his liver, and bleeding under the scalp, evidencing the sheer brutality of the assault, and contradicting Larkin’s initial account to the authorities.

Ricky Larkin initially claimed he tried to revive Je’Loni Smith with CPR, but later told a detective that the incident might be a result of “dirt in his life,” referring to his troubled past and suggesting karmic retribution. When questioned about the boy’s injuries, Larkin’s story changed. While in Lake County Jail, Larkin was overheard admitting to being high on drugs during the incident, as per

FOX59

. He is currently held without bail, and a court hearing date has not been set.

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