2-year-old dies in alleged beating by father (St. Louis, Missouri)

Still catching up on all the stories I missed during the holidays.

Dad AARON LUCY was alone with his 2-year-old son in "his" apartment when little boy was badly beaten with a "blunt object." The father was charged 1st-degree assault and armed criminal action--but that was before the boy died several hours later.

There is not one word of explanation here as to why this little boy was in the father's apartment (apparently not his parents' apartment), or where his mother was. Is this a holiday visitation case?

INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.

http://www.kspr.com/news/local/ktvi-south-city-toddler-beat-keenan-bassett-122710,0,4176009.story

2-Year-Old Dies In Alleged Beating By Father

BY Chris Regnier

FOX2now.com

5:46 p.m. CST, December 27, 2010

St. Louis, MO (KTVI-FOX2Now.com) — There are new details are emerging about a horrifying case of alleged child abuse in South City. Police say two-year-old Kyle Lucy died Monday night.

Court documents released just before five Monday night identify the suspect as 30-year-old Aaron Lucy. They say Lucy likely bludgeoned his two year old son with a blunt object and that the child suffered severe head injuries.

Monday Lucy is charged with assault first degree and armed criminal action. Investigators say the beating happened at Lucy's south city apartment on Chippewa. Police were called out for an assault around 8pm Sunday. There was still blood on the apartment door and a piece of police crime tape at the apartment on Monday. St. Louis Police say they will represent their case to prosecutors this week.

Keenan Bassett lives next door to Lucy's apartment. He says Lucy came pounding at his door with a bloody hand last night asking for help. When Keenan went to Lucy's apartment, he says he saw Lucy's son lying in a pool of blood with Lucy giving him mouth to mouth resuscitation.

"He was like help me, help me, help me. I was like what did you do, what did you do. He was like call an ambulance," said Bassett. He added, "I think about it all the time. I get that image in my head of that baby laying out on the floor all the time. I just don't want to see it again...I pray to god man that that baby comes through because the baby's two years old man, he don't deserve this man."

Keenan says he saw Lucy with the little boy earlier yesterday and everything seemed fine. Keenan says Lucy did ask him for help in stopping the toddler from crying a couple of hours before the terrible scene in the apartment. Keenan says he did help calm the toddler when Lucy asked him for assistance. The boy was taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

The court documents say Lucy was alone with his son when the attack happened. The documents also reveal that the two year old had no pulse with EMS crews arrived and that medical professionals treating the toddler believe he will likely die.

Police say Lucy remained at the scene until police arrived and he was taken into custody there.