Man charged with murder of boy, 2

CANTON — A 37-year-old man is being held in lieu of a $1 million bond in the death of a 2-year-old.

Antonio B. Hardeman of Canton is accused of becoming upset at Kai’ja Derohn and striking the boy in the mouth and banging his head against a headboard and wall, said Canton City Prosecutor Jason Reese.

Kai’ja was pronounced dead about 8:20 a.m. Saturday at Mercy Medical Center in Canton after emergency personnel had taken the child from Hardeman’s home to the hospital in response to the man’s 911 call.

On that call, a woman is heard crying and sobbing heavily in the background. Hardeman speaks quickly, and the dispatcher repeatedly tells him she can’t understand him. “He’s not breathing; he’s blue,” Hardeman says of the child. A dispatcher asks him repeatedly what happened to the boy. Hardeman Antonio B. Hardeman of Canton is accused of becoming upset at the boy and striking his mouth and banging his head against a headboard and wall.

After detectives were notified of the boy’s death, Hardeman was taken to police headquarters for questioning. Officers then secured a search warrant for the home, which is in the Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority’s Ellisdale Homes complex.

Police Chief Jack Angelo has said he thinks Hardeman was the boyfriend of the child’s mother. She

does not face a criminal charge in connection with her son’s death.

Hardeman is charged with murder, felonious assault and endangering children. He appeared in Canton Municipal Court for a brief hearing Monday in which Reese requested that the bond be set at $1 million, citing the defendant’s criminal record in Georgia. Hardeman was being held Monday in the Stark County Jail.