Sheriff: Mother’s boyfriend admits to beating 1-year-old girl to death

LAPLACE, La. (WVUE/Gray News) - The mother of a 1-year-old girl and her boyfriend were arrested after the girl was found dead, according to a Louisiana sheriff.

St. John Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre says officers responded to a call of a child not breathing Sunday around 9:30 a.m. in the 500 block of Revere Drive in LaPlace, Louisiana.

A 1-year-old girl was found unresponsive in a bed, and first responders were unable to detect any vital signs. The parish coroner pronounced the girl dead at the scene, WVUE reports.

Officers and medical personnel reported seeing bruising to her face and other parts of her body.

An autopsy found the girl suffered from several severe injuries to her head and body. The parish coroner determined the cause of death to be homicide by blunt force trauma.

The child’s mother, Keaura Dillon, and her boyfriend, Renard Robinson, both 23, were arrested on Monday.

Officials say Robinson admitted to beating the girl because she wouldn’t stop crying, which caused her to lose consciousness and eventually led to her death.

Tregre called the crime horrific.

“The child would not stop crying, (Robinson) stated, so he took the child and slammed the child on the floor of the apartment complex multiple times,” Tregre said. “He also struck the child on the bedroom posts of the bed and put the child back in bed.”

Neighbors say the couple were only living there for a short period of time. The arrest reports from the sheriff’s office list a Kenner address for Robinson and a Baton Rouge address for Dillon.

“It’s a sad situation that you got people that wanting kids, can’t have kids. And when you hear stories like this, it’s a shame that some people have to actually go through this and experience this,” one neighbor said. “I’m talking the little kids, innocent coming into the world, and they shouldn’t have to deal with that.”

Robinson was booked for second-degree murder and is being held on a $300,000 bond.

He reportedly told detectives he told Dillon about what happened before they called 911.

“It’s going to stick with and remain with my officers, probably the rest of our careers, the rest of our lives. It’s just a bad situation,” Tregre said. “This is just -- it’s not a good time ever -- but this is Christmas time, which makes it that much worse.”

Dillon was booked for accessory after the fact to second-degree murder. She is being held on a $190,000 bond.

Tregre said the investigation already includes trips with the 1-year-old to local doctors’ offices to be treated.

He added another child was in the home, a 4-year-old boy. The boy has been removed and placed into protective custody.

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