Texas man admits to ‘wrestling moves’ on 1-year-old boy who died in hospital: Police

EL PASO, Texas (TCD) --

A Texas man was arrested for capital murder after allegedly using “wrestling-style moves” on a 1-year-old child he was babysitting.

El Paso Police officers responded to a report of a 1-year-old child with a skull fracture and multiple other injuries at El Paso Children’s Hospital in the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 13.

The child was hospitalized in critical condition and was put on life support. Doctors said the boy’s injuries were non-accidental, according to El Paso Police.

The boy died on Friday, April 16.

El Paso Police arrested 24-year-old Marvin Rex Lake on April 12.

Police said Lake was taking care of the 1-year-old boy, and another infant, and a toddler. The three children had been left in Lake’s care while the mothers of the children went to work on April 12. Just before midnight on April 12, “the mothers returned from work and found the 1-year-old unresponsive.”

Police said the other two children also had unspecified injuries. The El Paso Police Department's Crimes Against Children unit was investigating the case.

KTSM-TV reports Marvin Lake drove to El Paso Police headquarters to answer questions, and denied knowing how the injuries happened. He later changed his story and told police he performed several “wrestling-style moves” with the infant, and had grabbed the child like a football. He said the child slipped from his hand and struck a futon frame in the residence.

KTSM reports the 1-year-old child suffered brain damage, lung hemorrhaging, skull fractures, suspected abdominal injuries and bruises on the boy’s chin and lower body.

Extended family told KTSM it was the first time that Lake watched the 1-year-old, and that he was a friend of the infant’s parents. The boy’s regular babysitter was sick, and Lake was a last-minute option, according to the family.

The El Paso Times reports the other two children are siblings.

Lake was held without bond at the El Paso County Detention Center for capital murder.

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