Peoria, IL – A 7-month-old infant was pronounced dead Tuesday morning in Peoria, and police have since arrested a man in connection with what investigators now believe was a non-accidental death.
According to the Peoria Police Department, officers were dispatched around 10:06 a.m. Tuesday to a home in the 300 block of South Kersee Avenue after receiving a report of an unresponsive baby. Emergency crews, including the Peoria Fire Department and AMT medics, were already performing CPR on the child in an upstairs bedroom when officers arrived. The child was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Initial statements from the caregiver suggested the infant had been sleeping in bed overnight with a parent who allegedly rolled over onto the baby. The parent reported waking up to find the child unresponsive.
However, an autopsy conducted later that day reportedly showed internal injuries that were not consistent with an accidental rollover. According to the Peoria County Coroner’s Office, the injuries were consistent with a traumatic, non-accidental incident.
Later Tuesday, detectives located Dwayne D. Davis, 41, in the 2000 block of N. North Street. He was taken to the Peoria Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division for questioning and was subsequently arrested on allegations of First Degree Murder and Endangering the Life and Health of a Child Resulting in Death.
Davis was booked into the Peoria County Jail. The case remains under active investigation.
Authorities are urging anyone with information to contact Detective Kris Kampas at (309) 494-8366 or leave anonymous tips via Crimestoppers at (309) 673-4521 or Tip411.
