Man is indicted on charge of murder in child’s death
A man accused of killing his girlfriend’s toddler son — a death he says happened when the two tripped and fell at a Harris County apartment — has been indicted on a murder charge after court records show he likely faked a head wound.
A grand jury indicted Jazemond Evans, 32, this week in the death of Kobe Hardaway — a 19-month-old who died last September after authorities found him unresponsive at an east Harris County apartment complex in the 6400 block of East Sam Houston Parkway.
Evans, who was tasked with caring for the boy as the mother went to the store, said he was holding the child when he tripped over a dog and the two tumbled to the ground, authorities said.
Evans attributed the child’s injuries at the time to the fall, but authorities found evidence of “chronic physical abuse.” An autopsy determined that Kobe had brain injuries consistent with shaking and rib fractures that were in the process of healing, according to court records.
Prosecutors said they believe Evans faked a head injury to fit his tripping narrative.
During the initial investigation, deputies inside the apartment heard a noise from the complex stairwell and rushed out to find Evans bleeding from his forehead. Body-worn camera footage shows the injury was not there when the deputies arrived, according to court records.
A blood sample taken from the stairwell railing was linked to Evans, authorities said.
Evans was charged in December with injury to a child as sheriff’s investigators continued the death probe. Medical examiner records have since deemed the death a homicide attributed to blunt force trauma to the head.
Kobe’s family could not be reached for comment.
At the time of Kobe’s death, Evans had been out of the Harris County Jail since February on a personal bond tied to a felony charge of evading arrest with a vehicle.