Pontiac Man Charged In Fatal Beating Of Girlfriend's 3-Year-Old Daughter

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A 23-year-old Detroit-area man has been arrested in the fatal beating of his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter.

Shean Amerson of Pontiac was arraigned Saturday on felony murder and child abuse charges, according to the Oakland County sheriff's office.

Deputies responded on Dec. 18 to a home in Pontiac on a report of an unconscious child. Aziya Matthews was rushed to an area hospital and later transferred to Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. She was pronounced dead on Dec. 20.

Hospital staff told investigators the girl had suffered severe head trauma, a collapsed lung, broken ribs that were in various stages of healing, round wounds on her legs and torso consistent with being burned by a cigarette and black eyes, the sheriff's office said.