Police: Mother and second person charged in death of Mississippi 5-year-old child
Published 2:57 pm Tuesday, April 18, 2023
Two people have been arrested in the death of a Mississippi 5-year-old child.
Gulfport Police announced the arrest of Denzel Jamal Blakely, 29, and Lachelle Renae Washington, 31.
Blakely has been charged with one count of capital murder. Washington, who is the child’s mother, has been charged with one count of child deprivation of necessaries with substantial harm.
WLOX in Biloxi reports that shortly after 7 a.m. on April 14, officers responded to a medical emergency of a 5-year-old at an address on 39th Avenue.
The child was transported to a local hospital, where the child was pronounced dead.
The death has been ruled a homicide after an autopsy indicated that the child suffered from blunt trauma.
Blakely and Washington were interviewed and then later arrested.
They were transported to the Harrison County Adult Detention Facility.
Blakely is being held with no bond, and Washington’s bond was set at $50,000.
