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The man accused of stabbing a 4-year-old Dallas boy to death and leaving his body in the street has been indicted on a capital murder charge.
On Monday, 18-year-old Darriynn Ronnell Brown was indicted by a Dallas County grand jury in relation to the boy’s death, according to The Dallas Morning News. He was also indicted on kidnapping and burglary charges.
Separately, the grand jury indicted Brown on counts of burglary and injury to an elderly person.
On the morning of May 15, a woman discovered the lifeless body of Cash Gernon in the street of Dallas’ Mountain Creek neighborhood. Authorities said the shirtless and barefoot boy had been stabbed with an unknown object.
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Hours before the boy’s discovery, surveillance camera footage obtained by the Daily Mail appeared to capture Brown hovering over Cash’s crib for around a minute. Brown then grabbed the toddler and fled.
Later, Brown returned to the bedroom where Cash’s twin brother still slept before leaving empty-handed.
The twin boys had been staying with a woman their dad had dated, Monica Sherrod. Later, Sherrod helped authorities to identify Brown, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Sherrod and her teenage son apparently knew Brown.
Brown’s attorney expects the 18-year-old will be found incompetent to stand trial and that his mental health will serve as the “cornerstone” of their defense.
Dallas County prosecutors have kept mum as to whether they’ll seek the death penalty, but if convicted of capital murder, Brown could face lethal injection or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In a separate incident, Brown has also been accused of hitting an elderly person and grabbing a young child after breaking into a Dallas home on Feb. 8. The home was a few houses away from the one where Cash was taken, The News reported.
After the 70-year-old homeowner confronted Brown, he said he was searching for his girlfriend and later punched the man, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Brown began walking away after grabbing the man’s 2-year-old granddaughter, but the man got Brown to release her.
Initially, the homeowner didn’t want to press charges – and he later received an apology from Brown – but police opted to file the injury and burglary charges following Cash’s death, according to The News.
Brown’s total bail is set at more than $6.6 million, and he remained in custody as of Tuesday.
