Live-in boyfriend charged with death of 4-year-old in East St. Louis
The live-in boyfriend of an East St. Louis woman was charged Thursday night with murdering her 4-year- old autistic child.
Demetrius D. Stewart, 27 of the 1800 block off Winstanley, was charged with first-degree murder and is expected to be transported to the St. Clair County Jail, where he will be held on $1 million bond.
Police were called to the residence early Wednesday morning when the child, La’Marion Thomure, was reported to have been found unresponsive. Officers and EMS workers attempted unsuccessfully to resuscitate La’Marion, who was pronounced dead at 6:05 a.m., St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye Sr. said.
The case was investigated by East St. Louis Detective Ronald McClellan and members of the St.Clair County Child Death Task Force. According to the charging document, Stewart beat the child repeatedly in the head and body.
MCClellan said La’Marion suffered “many severe injuries.”
“It was a tough case. I have never seen a 4-year sustain that many severe injures,” McClellan said. “The pain he must have been in is unimaginable.”
Stewart is not the La’Marion’s father, police confirmed. He and the boy’s mother, however, have a 1-year old child together and are expecting another, McClellan said.
The 1-year-old has been placed in the care of the Division of Child and Family Services.
St. Clair County court records show Stewart was subject to an active order of protection filed by the mother, but McClellan said Stewart was living in the residence. He faces three counts of violating the order, in addition to the murder charge.
Stewart was alone with La’Marion at the time officers arrives, according to East St. Louis police.
Stewart was charged in 2019 with domestic battery for beating the boy’s mother, according to court records. He also was charged with criminal damage to government property for kicking the window out of a police car.
“I want to thank the members of the St. Clair County Child Death Task Force for their help in this investigation,” McClellan said. “It was truly a joint investigation.”
The child’s death comes on the heals of a violent week in East St. Louis, during which five confirmed murders were committed over five days, including three over the weekend.
The city has had 20 homicides so far this year.
This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 11:11 AM.
