Father arrested after death of 3-month-old who ‘may have been tortured’

GAFFNEY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Police arrested a suspect after the death of a three-month-old baby in Gaffney who had been on life support and passed away.

According to the coroner, baby Malachi Alfred Maurice Tate, Jr. was brought to Cherokee Medical Center on March 18 after his father reportedly found him unresponsive in the apartment. The baby was resuscitated at the Gaffney hospital and later airlifted to Greenville Children’s Hospital where he had undergone treatment and evaluation since that time.

The coroner said the child had multiple areas of injuries on his body that are not consistent with a fall as the father initially reported had occurred two days earlier. The fatal injuries on the baby are “no doubt from abuse,” the coroner said.

The child’s father, Malachi Tate, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with abuse/inflicting great bodily injury upon a child.

“It appears this child may have been tortured and it makes me sick to my stomach that a helpless infant has suffered and lost his life at the hands of someone who had a total disregard for a human,” Coroner Dennis Fowler said. “We must send a message that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated.”

Fowler said an autopsy is scheduled for Friday afternoon to assist with the investigation.

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