Suspects In Toddler's Death Held On First-Degree Murder Charges
DENVER (CBS4) - A Denver mother and her boyfriend are being held on first-degree murder charges in the death of 23-month-old Javion Johnson.
Candice Lampley, 29, and DeLonta Crank, 36, are being held without bond after being arrested on Wednesday. The announcement was made in a hearing in Denver court on Friday morning.
Javion would have turned two later this month. He lived at an apartment near the intersection of Franklin Street and 17th Avenue.
His grandfather told CBS4 the boy had been abused prior to the death, and had severe burns on the lower part of his body.
A friend of the mother said the couple asked him to check on Javion. He was alarmed when he couldn't wake the child.
"And I tried to rush him to hospital, I'm thinking I still had time to save him," said Quintaviax Wallace.
He continued, "As I'm running him in, I go to front counter I'm like he's not responding, he's not responding, what do I do? She showed me the lady and I gave him to the lady, they rushed him around the corner and put him in the bed and tried to bring him back to life."
Grandfather Earl Lampley said, "The burns that's on his body, I don't want to cremate him and burn him again, I want to bury him ... don't want to do no more burns to him."
Family members were at the Denver Justice Center for the morning's hearing.
Mayor Hancock has ordered an investigation into how the city's Human Services Department handled Javion's case because they did have prior contact with the family.
A memorial fund has been set up to help pay for Javion's funeral.