Autopsy of 5-year-old found in L.A. dumpster reveals dozens of traumatic injuries
04/29/2026 8:00 pm PDT
LOS ANGELES (TCN) -- The death of a child found in a dumpster in July 2025 has been ruled a homicide, authorities say.
According to an autopsy report released by the Los Angeles County medical examiner on April 28, 5-year-old Elyjah Anthony Hearn died from blunt force trauma and had dozens of signs of traumatic injury, NBC Los Angeles reports. Hearn had cuts, contusions, and fractures throughout his body, all in various stages of healing.
He had been found naked in a dumpster, according to the autopsy report, and his body was partially wrapped in a fleece blanket.
Five people were detained during the investigation, KTLA reports. On July 18, 2025, six days after the child’s remains were discovered, police identified 20-year-old Malik Gaddis as the suspect. At the time, he was involved with Hearn’s mother, but he is not the child’s biological father. Authorities allege he killed Hearn inside an apartment the day before the child’s body was found.
Gaddis was arrested and charged with murder and assault on a child causing death, according to KABC.
Hearn’s grandfather Troy Hearn Sr. said Hearn had autism, per NBC Los Angeles. “[Elyjah] was autistic, but that didn’t slow him down. … His speech was slow, but he understood and he was loving.”
A family member said law enforcement had been called to the home in the past with concerns about child abuse, KTTV reports. Gaddis’ criminal history includes an arrest for a 2024 carjacking and an arrest in 2025 on suspicion of domestic violence, according to NBC Los Angeles. If convicted of murder in Hearn’s death, he could spend 25 years to life in state prison.
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