In Manatee County, Dwight Baldwin and Audrey Lawrence are now the suspects in a murder case. The victim, a two-year-old boy, has died from injuries he sustained during the brutal attack. The toddler passed away today at All Children’s Hospital in St. Pete. Healthcare providers noted that this child abuse victim had head trauma, internal bleeding, bruises and lacerations over his entire body. Ms. Lawrence and Mr. Baldwin were originally arrested for Aggravated Child Abuse. Now they will be charged with Murder.
According to the CDC, 1,490 children died from abuse and neglect in the Unites States for the year 2004. This number decreased in 2005 to 1,460 deaths. Greater than 75% of these deaths occurred in children under four years of age. A total of 872,000 children were reportedly abused in that same time frame. In 2005, child protective services investigated 3.6 million cases of reported child abuse complaints, which resulted in discovery of 899,000 cases of child abuse. Higher rates of abuse occur in the African-American population at 1,950 per 100,000 children.
