DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — A Douglas County father, accused of murdering his 2-year-old son, said he became enraged after his child called him a bad word, according to an investigator.
"Coming out of the shower, the child called him a b***h, and while he was aware of the child's language in the past, he didn't take kindly to the child using that term to him. Also he refused to go to sleep and that angered him more." said Douglas County Sheriff's Investigator Jay Davies.
The defendant, 23-year-old Courtney Craig, was spending the weekend with his son, away from his mother. Douglas County sheriff's investigators went to Craig's apartment March 1, answering a 911 calls about an unresponsive child. They found little King Davis dead on the living room floor.
"There were bruises on the torso and abdomen. There was a bite mark on the child's shoulder, on his back. There were also contusions behind the ears, which is common in child abuse cases when a child is hit in the ear." said Davis.
Initially, Craig told investigators his son got sick after eating at a seafood restaurant, and may have had an allergic reaction. But after further questioning, authorities said the father admitted attacking his son.
"He acknowledged biting the child. That he punched him in the stomach and the chest." said Davis.
The investigator said the medical examiner found the toddler had also suffered several broken ribs.
The accused father made his first appearance in Douglas County Magistrate Court Thursday. Afterward, the child's mother said what happened to her son is heart-breaking.
"I couldn't bear with it, That's why I had to step outside. Just hearing something like that was done to my child, hurt me." said Shovannie Davis.
Davis told Channel 2's Tom Regan the father had not demonstrated any abusive behavior toward her son in the past. She and other family members
wore T-shirts into the courtroom bearing a picture of the deceased toddler.
"I was depressed before, but I'm angry now. I want justice for King. I want justice to be served." said grandmother Spanky Davis.
The defendant did not enter a plea during his first court appearance.
Cox Media Group
