Nick Taylor, 15 month-old infant, died from severe head trauma. Manner of death: Homicide. Jay John Barboni, the mother’s boyfriend, was arrested and charged with murder.

Nick Taylor’s last moments of life were brutal. He sustained a depressed skull fracture, massive scalp and brain damage from blunt trauma involving at least five blows to the head according to the Onondaga County Medical Examiner. It is alleged that Jay John Barboni, of Falcon Drive is responsible for the brutal beating of the toddler at shortly before 8:00 pm on Monday, August 18, 2008. The crime occurred in the apartment of Nick’s mother, Dawn Taylor.  

The medical examiner investigation revealed that Nick sustained extensive injuries including abrasions and contusions in addition to his severe head trauma. A babysitter said that when Mr. Barboni picked Nick up in the afternoon, Nick was fine. Nick’s mother, Dawn Taylor, had only been dating Mr. Barboni for about three months at the time of Nick’s death.  

New stories report that Shannon Provost, 31, of Phoenix, AZ, has two children by Mr. Barboni and also has a protection order against him because of his violent nature.  

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. Girls are at a higher risk to be victims of maltreatment than boys. Mothers have demonstrated a greater tendency to abuse and are generally younger in age than male adult abusers. However male adult abusers inflict more severe abuse outcomes.