Police in New York City arrested the caretaker of a four-year-old boy who was found dead in her apartment on Wednesday, Fox News reported.
Kryzie King, 27, was charged with first-degree assault and first-degree reckless endangerment after the young boy, Myls Dobson, was found with bruises and burns on his body.
The official cause of death has not been determined.
Officers responded to a 911 call from 235 West 48th Street at 10:50 a.m. that morning where they discovered Dobson unconscious. He was immediately rushed to Roosevelt Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
According to police, King said she placed Dobson on the bathroom counter before leaving the room for a few minutes. When she returned, she claimed to have found him in an empty bathtub after falling off.
A report by DNAinfo.com said King -- who also goes by the name Janaie Jones -- told police she beat and burned Dobson for several days, using hangers and belts. She also allegedly told them she would beat him when he asked to go to McDonald's.
The boy's father has been in prison since mid-December on a warrant for a missing court apperance, and the beating allegedly began on Dec. 18. According to the boy's mother, the caretaker is dating Dobson's father.
Philip Lights, an attorney for Dobson's mother -- who lost custody of him in September 2011 -- said his client will speak publicly on the matter on Friday.
"This family is distraught, the mother is in extreme pain as she was working very hard to get her life together so as to once again gain custody of her son and raise him with the love that only a mother can give, now she can't do that," Lights said.
Tony Herbet, a local community advocate, also spoke out on the matter.
"What is it that can make a person torture and assault such an innocent angel the way that this child has been? I am appalled, hurt and disgusted that someone would allow for this child to have been treated with such violence with no way to defend or protect himself," he said.
