“He was beaten like a man.” That’s how the grandmother of one-year-old Kybrel described the alleged incident that resulted in his hospitalization with a traumatic brain injury, as reported by Pittsburgh outlet WPXI. Kybrel was admitted to the hospital on November 23 after authorities discovered him unresponsive in the Pittsburgh apartment where his mother’s boyfriend, Lyndon Henderson, was caring for him, according to a criminal complaint obtained by local outlet WTAE.
The baby boy’s mother, who remains unnamed, informed authorities that she had left Kybrel with Henderson, aged 24, while she was at work. Upon her return home to check on the one-year-old, she found him unresponsive on the couch, according to the complaint. Kybrel, who suffered a traumatic brain injury along with multiple bruises, was swiftly taken to the hospital where he also endured a stroke and a broken neck vertebra. He was placed on a ventilator as his brain had been deprived of oxygen and was swelling, as per WPXI. Subsequently, he was placed on a feeding tube and put into a medically induced coma.
Following the incident in November, Henderson was arrested and charged with assault. However, those charges have been elevated to attempted homicide, as confirmed by Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh to WPXI. Walsh stated, “My office will always seek justice for victims. Children are innocent and our most vulnerable, and I will prosecute offenders who commit crimes against them vigorously and to the fullest extent the law allows.”
At the time of his initial arrest, Henderson claimed that Kybrel had fallen off the couch onto the floor after he had spun him in circles and placed him on the furniture, as reported by WPXI and WTAE. Henderson also mentioned to authorities that the one-year-old had recovered and was smiling. Nevertheless, the baby’s physician asserted to officials that the brain injuries Kybrel sustained are unequivocally the result of child abuse.
Speaking to WPXI after visiting her grandson in the hospital, Carla Darrell, Kybrel’s paternal grandmother, expressed her distress, stating, “It wasn’t good. He was on all kinds of machines. He was beaten like a man. A man beat my grandson.” She emphasized, “He didn’t do anything. There was nothing possible he could’ve done to do this to him.” Darrell also mentioned that had she known Kybrel needed a babysitter, she and her son, the boy’s father, would have willingly taken care of him. She said, “Nobody else had to watch him. We would’ve watched him.”
Henderson is currently detained in Washington County Jail without bond, awaiting a court appearance later this month. Darrell expressed her hope that he remains in custody, stating, “I don’t believe he belongs out of jail. He belongs there.” She concluded, “He belongs where he deserves to be in there.”
The severity of this case highlights the importance of protecting children and prosecuting
