Grandmom: Slain boy, 5, was a ‘free spirit’

The mother and sister of a man accused of killing his 5-year-old son took the stand in his trial Wednesday to say they never saw Darell Avant Sr. hit his child.

Avant’s younger sister, Tearra Hudson, said she saw kindergartner Darell Avant Jr. about every other weekend, when he came to his grandmother’s Winter Garden home to spend time with his dad.

“Their bond was everything if you ask me,” Hudson said.

Avant, who has been awaiting trial since his son’s Dec. 18, 2013, death, could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder. A medical examiner who testified Tuesday, Dr. Jan Garavaglia, said Darell Jr. had 208 bruises on his body and died of internal bleeding. He was beaten to death, she said.

Hudson said her brother punished his son with exercise, making him do push ups and jumping jacks when he misbehaved.

Avant told deputies he made his son do squats and push ups as punishment for getting sent home from school the day he died, but denied beating him.

Vanessa Bellamy, Avant’s mother, said she never saw bruises on her grandson, either.

“He was a free spirit, ran around and played just like the other kids,” she said.

Avant did not take the stand in his own defense. Circuit Judge Jenifer Harris let the lawyers make their closing arguments, but because of timing sent jurors home and told them they will begin their deliberations this morning.

In closing arguments, Assistant State Attorney Ryan Williams described a timeline of the afternoon Darell Jr. died and accused his father of not calling 911 for more than half an hour because he was trying to clean up evidence. Avant’s phone had a Google search for “eyes roll in back of head” at 6:26 p.m., but didn’t call 911 until his neighbor told him to, at 7:03 p.m.

“The ability to summon that help was in the hand of one person,” Williams said. “The same phone that he searched with — all he had to do was dial three numbers.”

Defense attorney F. Wesley “Buck” Blankner Jr. repeated what Avant told deputies the night of his son’s death: That the boy got out of the shower and collapsed.

“I’m not telling you that Darell Avant Sr. did the smart, best things that evening. He didn’t. And he has to live with that all the rest of his life, that he might have saved his son’t life if he had acted more promptly with 911,” he said.

Blankner also questioned when the boy was injured. He pointed out that he wore a long-sleeved shirt to school that day, so teachers would not have seen the dozens of bruises on his arms if they were already there. He repeatedly questioned Garavaglia’s testimony and said she only sought to confirm what deputies told her, an accusation she had denied on the stand.

“We all want answers when we have the death of a 5-year-old child, don’t we? We do. And we all want to hold someone responsible,” Blankner said. “I suggest to you the closest verdict in the case isn’t murder. It isn’t aggravated child abuse. It’s the charge of manslaughter by culpable negligence.”