Arrest in toddler's murder
A man who was watching a toddler at a west Charlotte motel beat the 23-month-old to death, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A father who was watching his 23-month-old son at a west Charlotte motel beat the toddler to death, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police. The man is now facing murder charges.
Detectives say Andre Earl Hampton was watching Ellijah Burger, who is his son, while the boy's mother was at work.
"I saw the mom when they brought him out. She was screaming and crying, 'Oh my God, not my baby,'" said Elizabeth Dickerson, a resident at the AARCS Residence Suites Hotel on South Tryon Street.
"She came out screaming. It gives me chills all over," she said.
Jawone Carr watched as Medic tried to save Burger. "I'd seen paramedics come out with the little guy in their arms. He was limp, like he was passed out or something," he said."He had whips all over his body."
People who live at the AARCS Residence Suites say Burger and his family were new to the area.Still many already knew the mom and can't get the image out of their minds.
"What she was going through, I can't imagine. I don't want to imagine it," said resident David Taylor.
CMPD says they responded to a call from the hotel around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday.Medic tried to save Burger by administering CPR, but he was pronounced dead at Carolinas Medical Center.
Detectives say Hampton willingly went to police headquarters where he was questioned. He was later charged with murder.
His first court appearance is scheduled for Thursday.
Police say there were other children in the room at the time of the crime.Those children are safe and in police custody, according to investigators on the scene.
Hampton's record shows he was arrested last April on a misdemeanor assault charge.
"I don't believe it. He wouldn't hurt anybody," said a woman who lives near one of the homes Hampton's mother owns. "He's not the type to do something like that. He was quiet and he really cared for those kids."
(NewsChannel 36 reporter Richard DeVayne contributed to this report.)
