A Chicago man has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend’s toddler.
James Harris, 23, admitted to police Wednesday that he was responsible for the murder of his girlfriend’s 1-year-old daughter, Amierah Roberson, according to The New York Daily News.
Jocelyn Roberson left her daughter with James Harris on Sunday while she went to work. When she returned to his home around 5 pm, Harris told Roberson that Amierah had ‘disappeared’. The concerned mother immediately called the police and a search ensued for the toddler, however, Amierah’s body was discovered nearly two hours prior by a passerby who caught sight of the toddler’s bruised body.
Harris admitted to beating the girl to death before he dumped her body in a park 20 miles from his apartment. It was determined Amierah died of head trauma.
“We don’t know what happened or what would make him do this. This is heartbreaking to our family and it’s a terrible tragedy. Our family loves our babies, so I just can’t understand how he could do this,” the toddler’s aunt, Tamika Vaughen, said according to The Chicago Tribune.
According to Vaughen, Harris has at least one child of his own, but her family did not know Harris especially well. News that he was responsible for the child’s death was a knife in the painful week the family has had.
Harris and Roberson have reportedly known each other since high school, but only began dating in the last year.
At the time of Amierah’s death, there was a pending abuse investigation against her mother, Jocelyn Roberson.
James Harris has been charged with murder.