A 23-year-old North Side man was accused Wednesday of murdering his infant son, from whom he had been ordered to stay away after allegedly punching the baby in the face nearly seven months ago, authorities said.
Tommy Howard Jr. was charged with first-degree murder and held on $1 million bond Wednesday in the death of his 9-month-old son, Damone Howard, authorities said.
The boy’s mother told police that Howard had agreed Monday to watch Damone at her apartment in the 7700 block of North Sheridan Road on the Far North Side. When she returned, she found Damone lying lifeless on the sofa, authorities said.
Prosecutors said that Damone had been crying when his father attempted to quiet the baby by feeding him a bottle.
When the child continued crying, Howard allegedly grabbed his son by the neck, squeezed his throat until he became unconscious, and placed Damone in a crib, said Jodee Fallon, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.
Twenty minutes later, Howard, of the 1000 block of West Balmoral Avenue, checked on his son and found blood on his mouth, nose and bed sheets. Howard then brought the boy to the bathroom and ran his face under running water before placing him on the sofa and leaving the apartment, Fallon said.
Damone was pronounced dead Monday at 2:30 p.m. in St. Francis Hospital in Evanston. The exact cause of the boy’s death remains under investigation, according to a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner.
On Wednesday, Fallon said that Howard’s arrangement to watch his son violated certain bond conditions set after he was accused of punching Damone last year and charged with domestic battery.
Last November, a judge told Howard that his freedom was contingent on his making bail and having no contact with his child, Fallon said.
Meanwhile, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services officials said Wednesday that they were aware of the charges made against Howard last November.
Audrey Finkel, a DCFS spokeswoman, said Damone and his older brother were not taken into protective custody because the children were not living with their father.
