Couple charged with killing son expecting another child
Portsmouth pair was ordered to have no contact while on bond
PORTSMOUTH — Five weeks after Talaysia Nelson and Rocky Mugynei II were charged with killing their young son last year, the couple was released from the Portsmouth city jail on bond.
Both were 18 and facing charges of second-degree murder and child abuse for the February 2021 death of their 2 ½-year-old son, Ramonzé Mugynei.
Among the conditions a Portsmouth Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court judge set for the couple’s release was that they have no contact with each other while awaiting trial. Mugynei also was told to stay away from children under 5, including his own.
Prosecutors found out last week, however, that not only have Nelson and Mugynei been in regular contact with each other, they’re expecting another child together. That’s according to a motion the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office filed last week seeking to have Nelson’s bond revoked.
Mugynei’s bond had already been taken away in March, when prosecutors learned he’d been spending time with another of his children, in violation of the no contact order. A court document said he took the boy to Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, but didn’t indicate why he brought the child in.
Circuit Judge Brenda Spry revoked Mugynei’s bond March 15, two weeks after the hospital visit, according to an order in his file. He’s being held in the city jail. Circuit Judge Kenneth Melvin revoked Nelson’s bond Monday after prosecutors told the court they’d learned from a witness she was planning to flee Virginia and move to Las Vegas.
Nelson didn’t show up for Monday’s motion hearing and Melvin issued an arrest warrant for her, court records show. She hadn’t been arrested as of Wednesday, said Portsmouth Undersheriff Marvin A. Waters Jr., and is listed as a fugitive in online court records.
A spokesperson for the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office didn’t respond to a request for more information from The Virginian-Pilot, and attorneys for Nelson and Mugynei couldn’t be reached for comment.
The couple was first arrested and charged in the
case Feb. 17, 2021 — eight days after paramedics were called to their Portsmouth home for a report of an unresponsive child.
When first responders arrived, Mugynei was performing CPR on the toddler while Nelson and Mugynei’s mother stood by, according to a criminal complaint in Mugynei’s court file. The boy was taken to Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy showed Ramonzé had bruises and scrapes over most of his body, pooled blood in his abdominal cavity, a lacerated liver, intestinal damage, and a crushed testicle, the court document said. His cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma to the abdomen.
The boy’s parents told police the night before he died, Ramonzé had been throwing up profusely, would not eat, and only drank a small amount of water. When police asked why they didn’t take him to a doctor, Nelson and Mugynei said they didn’t think it was serious.
The toddler was lying on a couch, watching television the next day when both parents left the room to take a call. When they came back, he was unresponsive.
When told about the autopsy results, Nelson told police any injuries Ramonzé had sustained would have been from being an active child who liked to play rough and fell often. Mugynei told the officers he spanked Ramonzé with a belt when he misbehaved or defecated on himself during toilet training.
He also said he frequently “rough housed” and wrestled with the boy, and had performed an “elbow drop” move on him the night before he died.
A pediatrician who specializes in child abuse cases told police the injuries could not have occurred during play, according to court documents.
Nelson’s mother told police she suspected her grandson had been abused and showed them screenshots of Instagram messages shared between her and her daughter about their abuse suspicions, the court document said.
She also told police Nelson and Ramonzé had been living with her until about a month before the boy died, but left after a “falling out” and moved in with Mugynei. Nelson’s mother told police the child’s bruises didn’t start showing up until after he moved in with his father.
After the couple’s arrest on Feb. 17, 2021, Mugynei was granted a $25,000 bond on March 25, 2021, with the conditions requiring he stay away from Nelson and children under the age of five, court records show.
Nelson received the same bond two days later, with the conditions that she have no contact with Mugynei and live in Newport News. Court records didn’t indicate who granted the bond at that time.
Nelson was taken into custody again March 2, court records show, though it’s not clear why. Circuit Judge Brenda Spry granted a $5,000 bond over prosecutors’ objections, the records show.
According to the motion filed last week by prosecutors, Nelson had asked a Norfolk Child Protective Services worker to conduct a scheduled home visit with her at Mugynei’s home in Portsmouth, rather than the one in Newport News where she was supposed to be living.
During the visit, Nelson admitted to having consistent contact with Mugynei and told the caseworker she planned to live with him indefinitely.
On June 9, prosecutors got a call from a woman who said Nelson told her she planned to flee Virginia and move to Las Vegas once Mugynei got out of jail, despite that Mugynei is being held without bond.
The woman also said Nelson told her she was 21 weeks pregnant with Mugynei’s child. Prosecutors filed their motion to revoke bond that same day and notified Nelson’s lawyer of their plans.
Among the conditions a Portsmouth Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court judge set for the couple’s release was that they have no contact with each other while awaiting trial.