JPSO: 3-year-old was killed by 'strangulation and or suffocation'

Yesterday, officials said the death of 3-year-old Desmond Brown  was a homicide. 

 

According to JPSO spokesman Col. John Fortunato, deputies arrived on the scene of in the 200 block of Rue Racine Street just after 11:00 a.m. Wednesday.  

 

The child's mother, Lakeshia Brown, told police she found her son unresponsive, picked him up and placed him on the sofa, and called 911. 

 

The woman says she could not get out through the front door and crawled out of a window to meet the responding JPSO officers, according to Fortunato. 

 

According to the report, responding officers and paramedics also had to crawl in through the window.  Police say they found an iron bar across the front door. 

Fortunato says the responders found the deceased child on a sofa, and says responders found a strong smell of gasoline inside the home. 

 

The mother remains in custody after being taken in for questioning on Wednesday. 

 

"It appears as though the child had some type of trauma, but nothing visibile at this point," according to Fortunato.  He says the JPSO is awaiting the results of a coroner's report and is investigating the matter as a homicide.