PETERSBURG, Va. -- A 20-year-old father has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of his nine-month-old son.
Officials said Jermaine Lee of Petersburg brought his son to Southside Regional Medical Center around 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday. The baby, Chance Lee, who officials said is a resident of Hopewell, died of his injuries just after 5:30 p.m.
Police said the baby was in Lee's care when the injuries occurred.
Friends said Jermaine Lee was a loving father, a man working a job and taking a full load of classes at Virginia State University while co-parenting his son.
They can't believe he's now charged with the little boy’s murder.
Lee's friend Blake Washington said the autopsy revealed injuries to the child’s stomach area. "I just spoke with baby's mom and child's grandmother,” said Washington. “Jermaine told them that his son was on the couch and he left to grab some food and turned around to see the baby fall on his backpack with a PS4 (Playstation 4) inside."
Petersburg police launched a death investigation Wednesday night and announced the second-degree murder charge Friday afternoon.
"That's a fairly quick turnaround, so there must've been something convincing to support that charge for police to go to the magistrate and get warrants,” said T.O Rainey, a former prosecutor, who is now a defense attorney.
Rainey said cases like this are hard on both sides of the courtroom aisle."You have to appreciate what the parents are going through,” Rainey said. “Sometimes it takes away objectivity that you have to evaluate the case. What you can prove? On the other side, what does the evidence say, so you can defend the case?"
Jermaine Lee is being held at Riverside Regional Jail tonight with no bond.
