Police: Ohio man calls 911, confesses to killing 5-year-old son with baseball bat
03/26/2021 11:35 am PDT
By Talia Naquin, WJW
PARMA, Ohio (WJW) -- The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified a 5-year-old boy killed at a Parma home Thursday afternoon.
Jax Ponomarenko was identified as the victim of a homicide in a home in the 4700 block of Russell Ave Thursday afternoon.
“I just killed my son,” Matthew Ponomarenko, the boy's father, told the dispatcher.
Ponomarenko, 31, told the dispatcher he was hearing voices.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner did not release a cause of death.
Ponomarenko is in jail on a charge of aggravated murder. He’s scheduled to appear in court on March 29.
Parma Police released an audio recording of the 911 call Matthew Ponomarenko made after his son’s death, where he admits to killing his son with a baseball bat, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
A Cuyahoga County spokeswoman said Friday the county has not been in contact with the family since 2019. She did say that the county worked with the family on parenting skills following a 2017 child endangering case against Ponomarenko, the Plain Dealer reports.
