Parents Enter Pleas Over Toddler's Death in Squalid Apartment

Blair Robinson and Kenya Reed pleaded guilty today in connection with the death of their son Alex Robinson and the home of astonishing squalor in which they lived with two children. Robinson whipped, kicked and beat the 2-year-old to death on Christmas Eve. Reed watched.

Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. announced the pleas Thursday.

Robinson pleaded guilty to one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree, a class “B” Violent Felony,

Reed pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of Endangering the Welfare of a Child in connection with the death and the living environment that was discovered in their Yonkers home on Christmas Eve.

At 8:14 p.m. Dec. 24, 2016, Robinson walked into the emergency room at St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers carrying his 2-year-old son and reported to the staff that the child was not breathing. Hospital personnel observed that the child was lifeless and had no pulse. They were never able to revive him and he was pronounced dead at 9:25 p.m.

Although it was not readily apparent what caused the child’s death, hospital personnel did observe bruises on his back and notified the Yonkers Police Department.

Police said when they went to the victim’s home following the child’s death, they located his mother and also discovered the boy's 10-month-old sister in a bedroom where she lay in a cold room on a mattress with no sheets, a bottle of curdled milk beside her. The child was dirty and suffering from a terrible diaper rash. The apartment was filthy and unsanitary and rodent droppings were all over kitchen surfaces. Bugs flew around inside the refrigerator.

The baby was sent to Westchester Medical Center for follow-up care. Both parents were interviewed. Robinson minimized his conduct and stated he only hit the child one time on his buttocks. When the autopsy was conducted by the Westchester County Medical Examiner’s Office, it was determined that Alex died as a result of blunt force trauma to his head and his torso and that he had hemorrhages in his brain and internal organs. Approximately nine marks on his back appeared to have been pattern injuries caused by some kind of instrument that was used repeatedly to strike him. Reed told Yonkers Police that she witnessed Robinson beat their son until he was unconscious and detectives learned Reed did nothing for the child such as stop the attack, call 911, call an ambulance or seek any medical attention. When the police located Robinson again on Dec. 27, he admitted to police that he had kicked, whipped and beaten the child the afternoon of Christmas Eve. Then he had taken a nap and gone to work for about 90 minutes, before finally returning to his house at 44 Maple Ave. where he retrieved his son and brought him to the emergency room. Robinson was arrested following that interview and charged with his son’s homicide. Reed faces a maximum possible sentence of one year on each of the misdemeanor charges of child endangerment. She will be sentenced on Sept. 28, 2017.
Robinson faces 25 years in state prison. He will be sentenced on Dec. 20, 2017. This case is being prosecuted by Second Deputy District Attorney Fredric Green, Chief of the Special Prosecutions Division and Special Prosecutions Division Assistant District Attorney Joyce Miller.Get free real-time news alerts from the Mount Vernon NY Patch.Thanks for your feedback! Now share it with your friends!Thanks for your feedback. Originally published August 24, 2017. More from Mount Vernon NY Patch