Dominick Calhoun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On April 8, four year old Dominick Calhoun was sitting on the couch at his family’s apartment eating cereal when he accidentally urinated on himself and the couch. His mother’s boyfriend Brandon Joshua-Frederick Hayes, allegedly became enraged and began punching and kicking Dominick repeatedly in the head. Still angry, Hayes then began hitting Dominick’s mother, Corrine Baker, and pulled out chunks of her hair while he screamed, “Who is going to pay for this?” (Meaning the sofa). The next day, Hayes once again began kicking little Dominick in the head and the groin repeatedly and when Dominick’s mother covered his body with her own, Hayes kicked her in the head. During the abuse, Hayes kept screaming at Baker that he was tired of raising Dominick and he was upset that he was not getting any money from Dominick’s father. Hayes told Baker that Dominick was nothing more than a little crackhead who deserved to die. I don’t understand why Corrine didn’t leave with her son after the first incident. Hayes, should have NEVER had the chance to hurt either of them the next day, and yet still Corrine stayed even after Hayes said her son “deserved to die.”

 

 On the third day of this savage beating, Dominick was lying listless on his bed when Hayes dragged Dominick who was unconscious out of his bed by his arm and continued to kick and beat him again and again throughout the day. The investigation also revealed that Hayes had used his thumbs to poke into Dominick’s eyes. On the fourth day April 11th Baker’s sister, Christine stopped by the apartment to purchase drugs from Hayes and her sister. When she seen bruising on her sister and her nephew had been badly beaten, Christine left and told Dominick’s grandfather, Richard Calhoun. Mr. Calhoun called the police and stated frantically that they needed help at because his grandson was dying.

 Officers entered the apartment and found Dominick in his bedroom lying on his back wearing only a t-shirt and pull-up pants. Dominick was unconscious and moaning with shallow breathing at the time. Dominick was rushed by paramedics to a local hospital where he was declared brain dead and placed on life support. A portion of Dominick’s skull had to be removed to help relieve pressure because his brain was so swollen. Dominick Calhoun died the following morning after being removed from life support. Brandon Joshua-Frederick Hayes was charged with torture, child abuse, homicide, murder, assault with the intent to create great bodily harm less than murder, delivery of marijuana to a minor, possession with the intent to deliver and possession of hydrocodone. Judge Richard Yuille sentence Hayes to 100-to-150 years in prison for the second degree murder conviction and life without parole for the two counts of felony murder. Hayes also received lengthy sentences for the remaining seven counts including 60-90 years in prison for torture.
 

UPDATE:

 

Dominick's mother Corrine Baker has been charged with second degree murder. Baker was sentenced to thirteen to thirty years for her second degree murder conviction and two to four years for her conviction of second degree child abuse.