Dad Charged in Infant's Death

TAMPA, FL — A 23-year-old Tampa man faces first-degree murder and aggravated child neglect charges following the New Year’s Eve death of his infant son.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Kent Hawkins Johnson Jr. would have turned 3 months old on New Year’s Day. The boy, however, was brought to a local hospital around 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 28 and died on Dec. 31.

The child, a probable cause affidavit said, had been beaten by his father, Kent Hawkins Johnson Sr. on Dec. 19 and again on Dec. 27. During the first attack, deputies say, the baby’s femur and several ribs were fractured. A skull fracture occurred after the second.

The child’s father was initially brought into custody on two counts of aggravated child abuse. Those charges were upgraded to first-degree murder and aggravated child neglect on Jan. 4, following a Jan. 2 determination by the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner that homicide was the cause of death, an email from the sheriff’s office stated.

Kent Hawkins Johnson Sr. is being held in the Hillsborough County Jail without bond.

Booking photo courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office