Man charged in boy's Brooklyn Park death
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A 23-year-old man was charged Friday with second-degree intentional murder for allegedly punching his 1-year-old son in the chest, killing him.
Prosecutors said Reggie Delanie Harper grabbed his son from his crib on Thursday night, put the boy on the floor, then punched him repeatedly in the chest because he was crying. He then threw the boy back in his crib and wouldn't let the boy's mother check on him.
The boy was identified Friday as Kazerion Harper.
Reggie Harper is due in court Monday. It's not immediately clear if he has an attorney.
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The criminal complaint said the couple's other son, a 3-year-old, was admitted to the hospital just two days earlier with injuries suspicious of abuse.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said in a statement that the county did everything it could to protect Kazerion and his older brother.
"The mother had done everything social workers asked and, as required by law, she was reunited with her children," Freeman said. "Unfortunately, despite an order of protection against him, she allowed her abusive boyfriend back into the house."
Prosecutors filed a petition Friday to terminate the couple's parental rights.
