Few details emerge in 2017 South Pittsburg infant death
Few details were available Thursday in the arrest this week of a 22-year-old Marion County, Tennessee, man who is charged with murder and child abuse in connection with the December 2017 death of his girlfriend’s 11-month-old son.
Jonathan Beaumonte, 22, of South Pittsburg, Tennessee, was arrested in the death of the boy, who died Dec. 13, 2017. He is being held at the Marion County Justice Center on a $20,000 bond.
Twelfth Judicial District Attorney General Mike Taylor said Beaumonte faces an arraignment Aug. 17 in Circuit Court. The victim was not Beaumonte’s biological son, Taylor said. There was no hearing in setting the bond, he said.
Beaumonte was arrested this week after a Marion County grand jury issued an indictment Monday charging him with two counts of felony murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. There are two counts of murder because they are associated individually with the abuse and neglect charges, officials said.
Assistant District attorneys Steve Strain and Sherry Shelton said they couldn’t discuss any case details but did give a short description of what led up to the charges.
In early December, the 11-month-old boy was transported to the hospital, “and due to his condition, hospital officials notified the authorities,” Strain said. He added he could not discuss what sent the infant to the hospital in the first place, however.
The summons contained in Monday’s indictment lists personnel and records from Children’s Hospital at Erlanger, the doctor who performed the autopsy, two TBI agents and two South Pittsburg police officers.
TBI officials said the ensuing investigation involved the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services and resulted in information that led to Beaumonte as the person responsible for the boy’s death.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton.