PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A South Peoria woman faces murder charges for allegedly beating her 20-month-old son to death earlier this month.
And documents from a recent court hearing where prosecutors sought to remove a young child from the woman’s home, alleging that the child had signs of abuse as well.
Kaleeyah Sprinkle, 24, was already facing up to 30 years in prison for injuries Amiri Robinson, of Peoria, suffered earlier this month, but a Peoria County grand jury on Tuesday added on a count of first-degree murder after he died on May 9.
The charge alleges, “she, without lawful justification, knowingly struck the head and the body of Amiri Robinson . . . knowing such acts created a strong probability of death or create bodily harm”
Given the child’s age, Sprinkle, if convicted, could spend the rest of her life behind bars. She will be arraigned on June 12, according to court records.
Prosecutors also added an aggravated battery count, which alleged abuse of that other child.
In a Facebook post, Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood said Robinson was transported to OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in grave condition. Sadly, he was pronounced dead at 3:13 p.m. May 9, the coroner said.
“The male was brought by a parent to Peoria Fire Station 8 on Hulbert after being found facedown in a play pen at home. The staff from the fire department assessed the child, who was unresponsive, not breathing, and had no pulse. They began immediate life-saving intervention,” the coroner said in his post.
Initial autopsy results indicated that he suffered multiple, severe, non-accidental blunt force trauma injuries throughout his body, as a result of perpetrated child abuse.
Juvenile Court Records
The May 12 shelter hearing was for the boy’s other siblings. Such hearings and the documents accompanying are sealed to the general public. However, the media is allowed to sit in on such hearings and report on them without divulging information about the children. WMBD is not naming the children, nor will it give any identifying information regarding the others.
At that hearing, prosecutors used a 3-page petition to outline their reasoning for why the other child should be removed from the house.
According to records, Sprinkle allegedly took Amiri to a fire station on Hurlburt Street on May 6 for help as the child was unresponsive. He had been found in a playpen unresponsive, the court records state.
The boy, according to court records, was “naked and had bruising and bleeding around his left eye, scratches on his anus and deep bruising to his buttock and flank.” Firefighters rushed him to OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in critical condition.
Once there, the boy was diagnosed with a brain bleed, lacerations to his liver and doctors noticed he had two fractures, which were hearing on his pelvis. He was comatose for an undetermined period before he sadly passed away.
The other sibling, the document stated, had severe bruising to the face, neck and body.
Two days prior, on May 4, the petition alleged the other sibling had fallen off a couch at a friend’s house, hitting the cement floor with her head. As a result, the other sibling’s cheek was bruised and, despite swelling and crying by the child, Sprinkle did not take the child to the hospital because she was “afraid of what the hospital staff might think.”
A doctor with the Pediatric Resource Center said the injuries were “highly suspicious for non-accidental blunt force trauma and were not consistent with the mother’s version of events,” the petition stated. It was also noted that Sprinkle said the children were in her sole custody since Easter.
Also mentioned in the petition was Zaxton Johnson, who is Sprinkle’s boyfriend but not the biological parent to either child mentioned. After Amiri was taken to the hospital, police went to his house and there, they saw an SUV driving very slowly past the house.
Officers stopped the vehicle and found him inside. He was sweating profusely and acted nervous. Officers found a small child, the other sibling, in the back seat with “extensive pattern bruising, swelling, and scratches to the side of her face, neck, head, shoulders, ear, chin and legs.” When questioned, he said the other sibling fell off the couch as the mother reported.
On May 6, he said he went to her house and said the other sibling “looked ‘beat up’ and ‘injured real bad.’” Amiri, Sprinkle said, wasn’t breathing, and he took her to the hospital.
Johnson faces a misdemeanor count for endangering the life and health of a child, a crime that carries a maximum of a year in the county jail. He was also charged with failing to register as a sex offender stemming from a 2005 juvenile conviction.
He is slated to next appear in court on May 21 for a review hearing on the misdemeanor count
20-month-old Peoria boy dead due to ‘perpetrated child abuse,’ coroner says
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A 20-month-old boy is dead after being brought to a city fire station last week in “grave condition.”
In a Facebook post, Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood said Amiri Robinson, of Peoria, was transported to OSF Health Care Saint Francis Medical Center in grave condition. Sadly, he was pronounced dead at 3:13 p.m. May 9, the coroner said.
“The male was brought by a parent to Peoria Fire Station 8 on Hulbert after being found facedown in a play pen at home. The staff from the fire department assessed the child, who was unresponsive, not breathing, and had no pulse. They began immediate life-saving intervention,” the coroner said in his post.
Initial autopsy results indicated that he suffered multiple, severe, non-accidental blunt force trauma injuries throughout his body, as a result of perpetrated child abuse.
The Peoria Police Department continues to investigate. No further information will be released at this time.
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