A 23-year-old man has been arraigned on a murder charge in the death of his girlfriend's 2-year-old son.

Police say Latrell Lewis beat his girlfriend’s son, Nasir Paris, to death this past Sunday, and that the toddler was found inside of the home unconscious, covered in bruises. Paris was pronounced dead at the hospital.  

Lewis currently faces charges of murder in the second degree and three separate counts of manslaughter. The criminal complaint says Lewis was in sole custody of Paris Sunday just before noon. It claims the defendant stated he pushed Paris off of a bed, causing the 2-year-old to hit his head on a vent on the ground.  

The criminal complaint says the medical examiner's officer determined the cause of death including multiple instances of inflicted blunt force trauma to the head and body of Paris. Paris’ mother, Chamiqua Thomas, stated that her son did not have any bruises prior to being in Lewis’ custody.  

The family of Latrell Lewis provided the following statement in response:  

“On August 27th, 2023. Our Son and Brother Latrell Lewis was wrongfully accused of a crime that we cannot fathom he committed. The media and law enforcement have chosen to convict him before a thorough investigation has been conducted without imperative facts. Latrell was raised by his parents, stepmother, brother and his 5 older sisters. He is a proud uncle of 11 nieces and two nephews whom he cared for and even has been the independent caregiver to. He has never had an incident of violence and we know he would never hurt anyone much less a child. This situation has been a cruel twist of fate. We, the family believe that the true nature of this case will unfold and clear Latrell’s name of all charges. We will not accept another narrative of a wrongfully accused Black Man. We refuse to let our son and brother go down for this brutal allegation. We have never witnessed him hurt this child or any other. Latrell as well as our family are tremendously saddened by this loss. We know how much he loved baby Nasir and we pray for comfort for all parties involved while trusting that justice will prevail.” 

The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office says that his next scheduled court date is Sept. 6.