CLEVELAND — A 25-year-old Cleveland man has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder for the death of a 3-year-old child earlier this month.
Cleveland police say on June 11, Ronald Hicks Jr. inflicted injuries that resulted in a skull fracture, brain bleed and ultimately the child’s death, according to court documents.
Another court document, a request for a high bond made by a Cleveland police detective in the Child Abuse Unit, states that Hicks called 911 and reported that the 3-year-old child he was watching had suffocated himself with a plastic bag. The child was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center where it was discovered that the child also had a severe skull fracture. The child later succumbed to his injuries.
The medical staff determined that the child could not have sustained these injuries accidentally, or by suffocation from a plastic bag alone, court documents state.
Hicks was arraigned Monday morning on the murder charge, where bond was set at $500,000.
