D.C. dad arrested after 5-year-old son is found naked, dead in dirty home

WASHINGTON (TCN) -- A 32-year-old man was arrested over the weekend after his 5-year-old son was found deceased in a trash-filled home.

Court records show DeAndre Pettus is being charged with first-degree cruelty to children in connection with the death of his young son.

According to the affidavit, on Sunday, Oct. 6, just before 9:45 a.m., D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to an apartment at 4500 Connecticut Ave. NW regarding a juvenile in cardiac arrest. Police and EMS arrived and found the boy naked, unconscious, and unresponsive on the floor. Despite efforts to revive him, the boy was pronounced deceased at 10:19 a.m.

The boy lived at the home with two of his sisters and Pettus, their father.

Special Victims Unit detectives came to the scene and reportedly noted marks such as contusions and abrasions on the boy’s body. The affidavit says detectives noticed "unsanitary conditions" in the apartment, including "large amounts of garbage, clothing, and assorted property" that were "strewn about in every room." There were reportedly dirty dishes stacked in the sink, counter, and stove, and there was trash "all over the floor." The bathtub in the bathroom was reportedly filled with "murky water."

A witness who did not reside in the apartment but lived nearby told police that Pettus "was upset about his car needing a battery and he needed to catch the bus to go get a battery."

Pettus allegedly told the witness he “f--ked up” because his son "is not breathing. I was going to his body and he was trying to run and hit the wall. I f--ked up. He is unconscious." According to the witness, "going to his body" referred to Pettus punching the child "with full force."

The witness allegedly had seen Pettus punch his son in the past, saying he did it "with force that was not appropriate for a 5-year-old to be punched like that." The affidavit says the witness had a protective order against Pettus.

Detectives also spoke with the victim’s sisters, one of whom said the victim "slipped and fell and hit his face and shoulder on the wall." The boy started crying, so Pettus allegedly attempted CPR on him before putting him in the shower. The sister reportedly told detectives Pettus hits her and her sister if they get in trouble.

The medical examiner conducted an autopsy and noted that the boy "suffered two small abrasions to the temples and a faint contusion to the back of the scalp." There were no other signs of abuse other than the ones he sustained on his head. His cause and manner of death were listed as undetermined.

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