Court documents detail injuries 5-year-old child allegedly suffered at hands of father before death

WASHINGTON - New court documents detail the abuse a 5-year-old boy allegedly suffered at the hands of his own father in Northwest D.C. before he eventually died. 

DeAndre Pettus, 32, of northwest D.C. is facing a charge of aggravated assault after authorities found his 5-year-old son unresponsive and unconscious at a Connecticut Avenue NW apartment complex Sunday morning. 

According to court documents, the 5-year-old boy was found nude and lying on his back on the living room floor when officers arrived Sunday morning.  There appeared to be a contusion above his right eye and a possible abrasion below the right side of his neck, according to court documents.

 "Discoloration was observed beneath both eyes and what appeared to be an abrasion on the right side of the neck was determined to be dried blood. What was thought to be a contusion was described as pronouncement of the decedent’s forehead," the documents state.

The court documents also describe the apartment the little boy and his two sisters live in as one with "no carpeting in the living room, which has parquet tiles. Trash and assorted items of property observed scattered throughout the room".

Detectives also noted "throughout the entirety of the apartment, unsanitary conditions exist with large amounts of garbage, clothing, and assorted property are strewn about in every room." 

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In the bathroom, there was trash observed on the floor and "the tub was approximately ¾ full of murky water. This was seen after detectives were informed that the defendant made a statement to the initial responders that he had put the decedent in the tub briefly after he went unconscious."

On the scene, detectives interviewed a witness who does not live in the apartment and reported having a Civil Protective Order against Pettus. The witness told detectives Pettus was upset that Sunday morning about his car needing a battery and that he needed to catch the bus to get a battery. When he returned, he allegedly told the witnessed "I f---ed up. [Child] is not breathing. I was going to his body and he was trying to run and hit the wall. I f---ed up. He is unconscious."

"Going to the body" was described as "throwing punches towards the decedent’s body with full force. Witness 1 stated she witnessed the defendant punch the decedent in the past and it was with force that was not appropriate for a 5-year-old to be punched like that," the document states.

Officials also interviewed the two sisters, both of whom are juveniles. One of them reported the child "slipped and fell and hit his face, and shoulder on the wall," earlier that morning.

 The child also told investigators their father would give them a "whooping with his hand" and a whooping with a belt if they were in "big trouble."

The autopsy revealed the little boy suffered two small abrasions to the temple and a faint contusion to the back of the scalp, but there were no other visible signs of abuse. The cause of death was "undetermined".