DEKALB COUNTY, GA — A Decatur man has been convicted in the beating death of his girlfriend’s 19-month-old son, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.
A jury found 28-year-old Kentavious Hardnett guilty of felony murder and first-degree cruelty to children in connection with the child’s death in January 2021.
Prosecutors said the toddler’s mother left her son in Hardnett’s care at his apartment on Hatton Drive while she went to work. Investigators said the mother reported the child appeared normal and had no visible injuries during a video call around 5 p.m.
According to investigators, Hardnett later took the unresponsive toddler to a neighboring apartment around 7 p.m. A neighbor called 911 before driving Hardnett and the child to Emory Decatur Hospital when emergency crews did not arrive quickly enough.
Doctors said the toddler arrived at the hospital in cardiac arrest and respiratory failure. Medical staff later observed bruising on the child’s forehead and ears.
The child was later transferred to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where scans revealed bleeding on both sides of the brain. Investigators said the toddler never regained consciousness and was declared brain dead before life support was removed.
Authorities said Hardnett told investigators the child became unresponsive after falling off a bed while in his care. However, medical experts testified the injuries were consistent with abusive head trauma and not a fall.
An autopsy found injuries consistent with multiple blows to the child’s head, according to prosecutors.
Hardnett is scheduled to be sentenced in the coming weeks.