Teenage father accused of killing infant son to stand trial

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A 17-year-old father accused of killing his 4-monthold baby was ordered to stand trial during a preliminary hearing Friday in City Court, Downtown.

De-John Johnson of McKeesport was charged with homicide after he was alone with his son and the infant suffered fatal injuries in February, authorities said.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office ruled that the baby, Isaiah Brooks-Leonard, died from asphyxiation and the manner of death was homicide.

The infant’s head was bruised, his lip was cut and the tissue inside his upper lip that connects it to gum was torn, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Mr. Johnson’s defense attorney, Rodney Jones, argued Friday that Isaiah was injured when he was dropped by an 8-year-old relative earlier in the day. The baby’s head hit a couch at that time, he said, and a pacifier caused the injuries to his mouth.

Mr. Johnson “adamantly denies” harming his son, Mr. Jones said.

But prosecutor Lisa Pellegrini and Allegheny County Police Detective Laurie McKeel countered that the alleged drop does not explain the infant’s injuries.

“We knew something else had happened,” Detective McKeel testified.

After Isaiah died on Feb. 6, she interviewed Mr. Johnson with his mother, Teonita Askew, because he is a minor. Ms. Askew told police that Isaiah was fine when she picked him up from his mother, who is also a minor, for a weekend visit.

It was the second time Isaiah had spent the night with Mr. Johnson.

Ms. Askew said her 8year-old son dropped Isaiah into a couch on Sunday afternoon, when Mr. Johnson was away at a Super Bowl party, but that the baby was fine when she gave him to Mr. Johnson for the night upon his return home. The baby and Mr. Johnson slept in the same bed.

In the middle of the night, Mr. Johnson told his mother that Isaiah was nonresponsive, and they went to the hospital, according to a criminal complaint. The infant was in cardiac arrest and pronounced dead at 4:33 a.m. Feb. 6.

Ms. Askew was subpoenaed by the commonwealth but called to testify for the defense on Friday.

However, she exercised her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself and refused to testify.

It’s not clear whether she knew she had been called by the defense, rather than the prosecution.

At the end of the sometimes emotional hearing attended by about a dozen family members of both Mr. Johnson and the baby’s mother, Magisterial District Judge David Barton held the charges for court, with some hesitance.

“The commonwealth has just barely passed its level of burden of proof,” he said. “It’s more likely than not that Johnson is criminally liable in this case.”

Mr. Jones said the judge’s comment “bodes well” for Mr. Johnson going forward.

“I was extremely pleased with today’s hearing,” he said.

Isaiah’s mother and other family members declined to speak with reporters.