Man charged with fatal child abuse of girlfriend’s son

Essex, MD (WBAL ) — A man has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son in Essex.

Baltimore County police said they received a call around 9 p.m. on June 29 for a cardiac arrest in the 900 block of Garden Drive in Essex. The caller, identified as David Marvin Hass Jr., 34, was babysitting his girlfriend’s son and 5-year-old daughter while she was working when the child stopped breathing, police said.

The boy, identified in a probable cause statement as Damien Landrum, was taken to MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center where he was pronounced dead a half hour after arriving.

Hospital investigators noticed the child had multiple bruises on his face, arm, stomach and back, the probable cause statement said. Due to the age and injuries observed on the child, the Baltimore County Police Homicide Unit was asked to investigate.

According to the probable cause statement, Haas told investigators that the boy had “pooped himself,” and that he placed the child in the shower. Haas told investigators that he was gone for approximately 4-5 minutes, and when he returned, he found the boy face down in the tub, not breathing, the statement said.

An autopsy returned to police on July 8 revealed the boy’s bowels were torn and his pancreas was split in two pieces from the force used to inflict the injuries, that statement said. The cause and manner of death was determined to be multiple injuries and homicide.

Homicide Unit detectives determined that the injuries the boy suffered were inconsistent with the account of events given to police by Haas.

Haas was arrested Tuesday and is charged with first-degree child abuse resulting in death and first-degree murder. He is held without bond at the Baltimore County Detention Center pending trial.