Three charged in death of 3-year-old Virginia boy
HENRICO, Virginia -- Three people have been charged with murder in the death of a three-year-old boy near Richmond, Virginia, according to CBS affiliate WTVR.
Zyon Thompson was under the supervision of a babysitter, Alexis Denise Raiford, 32, and her husband, Clarence Raiford, 35 when he was rushed to the hospital on April 24. He died two days later.
Both Alexis Raiford and Clarence Raiford were initially charged with child abuse and neglect and are now charged with murder, along with their roommate, William Cory Moore, who claims he is innocent.
Moore said in an interview with WTVR that he doesn't know why he was charged with abuse, and added he felt sympathy for the family who lost their child.
"I feel very sad, but I know I had nothing to do with it even though I lived there," Moore, who is currently incarcerated in Henrico Jail, told the station.
Barbara Wilson, Zyon's grandmother, told the station she was uncertain of what happened inside the home where Zyon was being cared for before he was rushed to the hospital.
"I really don't know, but I know that whatever it was, it was so traumatic that when he got to the hospital his heart had stopped," Wilson said.
Wilson told the station that a doctor managed to get her grandson's heart beating again, but that he was brain dead.
The baby sitter, Alexis Raiford, also said during a jailhouse interview with WTVR that she's innocent.
"I am not responsible for Zyon's death. I loved Zyon like he was my own child, I promise you that," Alexis Raiford said.
She said that sometime during the day the little boy had gotten into some crabs and seasoning.
"You could hear something wrong with the breathing," Alexis Raiford said. "There was no abuse."
She told the station she was not at home at the time of the incident. Alexis Raiford claims that Zyon was with her husband and Moore.
The station reports that Clarence Raiford declined a request for an interview.
The next court date is July 30, 2015.