Teen dad faces murder charge in son's death
Father asked for 2-year-old son to spend the night, police say
The Gaithersburg teen charged with murder in the death of his 2-year-old son continues to be held without bond in the Montgomery County Detention Center.
"Obviously, you're in a heap of trouble to say the least," Montgomery County District Court Judge Barry A. Hamilton told the defendant, Darryl Eugene Powell, 17, during a bond hearing Monday.
Powell, of the 4700 block of Merust Lane, was arrested Friday after an autopsy determined that his son Zjaire Williams was a homicide victim who died Jan. 7 of "multiple injuries" revealed by bruises in his mouth and on his body, according to county police.
The boy, who lived with his 17-year-old mother, Todzja Williams, in Damascus, was staying with Powell during the time the injuries were sustained, according to police charging documents.
At the bond hearing, Hamilton asked for family of either the defendant or the victim to come forward. No one did.
"My mom's looking for a lawyer right now," Powell said via closed-circuit television.
Hamilton denied bond and advised Powell to meet with a public defender if he does not have a lawyer by Friday.
A woman at the home of Tina R. Powell, the defendant's mother, declined comment. A relative of Zjaire's said the boy's family was not ready to comment.
Police charging documents in the case provide the following account.
At around 6:19 a.m. on Jan. 7, police and rescue crews responded to Powell's homefor a 911 call for an unresponsive child. Zjaire was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Powell told detectives that he had asked the boy's mother if Zjaire could to spend the night. She dropped Zjaire off at around 2 a.m.
"Powell stated that the two watched TV for a little while, gave him some water then the two went to sleep on the sofas in the living room," according to the documents.
When Powell woke up, he found Zjaire "face down" on top of cushions on the floor.
"He went over saw that he was unresponsive, called Zjaire's mother, tried to get a family member to wake up to help him, and then called 911," according to the documents.
Hospital staff noticed that Zjaire had bruises and cuts and sent his body to the state Medical Examiner's Office. The next day, the medical examiner ruled that Zjaire was killed and the cause of death was "multiple injuries."
In February 2007 — when Zjaire was barely 2 months old — Williams filed a paternity suit against Powell. A blood test established that Powell was the boy's father, records show. A July 2007 hearing to determine child support was postponed so that Powell could "complete a court-ordered program for behavior rehabilitation," according to court records.
The case was dismissed in November.