Babysitter Charged With Murder Of Palm Bay Infant
By Space Coast Daily // October 6, 2014
SUSPECT CURRENTLY BEING HELD IN ORANGE COUNTY, CA
PALM BAY, FLORIDA — The 24-year-old man asked to babysit his girlfriend’s 4-month old son now faces murder charges following the infant’s death on September 26th.
Click HERE to see the arrest warrant.
Joseph Lamay, 24 of Palm Bay faces one count of first degree felony murder for the death of Lorenzo Hernandez, 4 of Palm Bay. Lamay is currently being held in an Orange County, California jail without bond on the murder warrant and will be extradited to Brevard County within the next two weeks
On September 26th shortly after 1 a.m. emergency dispatchers received a 9-1-1 call reporting an infant not breathing. The caller reported the infant had fallen off the couch and wasn’t breathing. Lamay was the last person to have contact with the infant as he was babysitting for his girlfriend who was at work. Emergency dispatchers provided CPR instructions on the phone until paramedics arrived. The infant was transported to the hospital and later flown to Arnold Palmer Hospital where doctors pronounced him deceased several hours later.
Detectives with the Major Case Unit and Special Victims Unit immediately began the investigation by interviewing Lamay and all others who had contact with or cared for the infant. Detectives were also working in conjunction with the State Attorney’s Office and the Brevard County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine what occurred and to understand the circumstances that led to the death. The investigation revealed the child died from blunt force trauma however the exact circumstances are still being investigated.
It is believed Lamay fled Brevard County on Sunday following the incident. Information led detectives to Garden Grove, California where Lamay’s brother lives. Authorities in California located Lamay and arrested him on Friday during a traffic stop which revealed he had an active warrant for violating probation on an unrelated drug charge.
Detective Ursula Cowan went to California and interviewed Lamay and was able to establish enough probable cause for the arrest warrant on the murder charge. “Based on his statements and his admissions, Mr. Lamay is being held responsible for the injuries that lead to Lorenzo’s death,” Detective Cowan said. “He tried to minimize his role, but we believe his actions are directly responsible for what happened.”
The investigation is ongoing.
