Keshan Darrel Allen, 29, of Athens made his first appearance in court Thursday afternoon since his arrest Tuesday, May 16. Allen is charged with aggravated child abuse and felony murder in the death of his girlfriend’s two-year-old son.
The bond and preliminary hearings were held in the courtroom of Judge R. Gray West. District Attorney questioned Athens Police Department Detective Sgt. Kelly Fussell about the events leading to Allen’s arrest.
Fussell testified that on Friday, May 12, a 911 call was placed from Oakleaf Apartments at 10:24 a.m. in regards to an unresponsive child. APD and medical responders arrived on scene within ten minutes where they found the unresponsive toddler. The child was taken to Athens Limestone Hospital where he died later that same afternoon.
Allen had told officers that the child was placed in the shower after using the bathroom in his pants. As he went to retrieve a new diaper, Allen claims to have heard what sounded like the child falling. He then told officers that he found the boy unresponsive in the tub and, not knowing proper CPR, began punching him in hopes of reviving him.
The child’s body was sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science for autopsy. The death was ruled to have been caused by blunt forced trauma.
Fussell was present for the autopsy and described seeing “a lot of blood in the abdominal cavity and obvious hemorrhaging.” The child also had a lacerated liver and his collarbone was broken. Fussell asked the examiner if the injuries could be caused by lifesaving measures and was told “absolutely not.” Absent was any bruising to the head one might expect from a fall in the shower or tub.
Detectives, including Fussell, questioned Allen again after the autopsy findings. Allen admitted to punching the two-year-old in the stomach and grabbing his shoulder to put him in corner as discipline for the bathroom accident. The child then had another accident which led to Allen placing him the shower.
An eyewitness to the incident was the four-year-old sibling of the deceased. She was taken to Limestone County Child Advocacy Center for a forensic interview where she described Allen striking the two-year-old on his back prior to putting him in the shower.
Allen is believed to have been in Athens only three weeks after previously living in Michigan and California. His criminal history consists of several gun charges in California with references to possible gang activity. The mother of the two children was not at home at the time of the incident.
Judge West is expected to render his decisions regarding bond and the charges by the end of the day Thursday.