Toddler's Death: Boyfriend Told Cops He Put 2-Year-Old's Face Under Faucet, Shook Him

BELLEVILLE, IL — A Southern Illinois man identified as a person of interesting a toddler's death told police he attempted to revive his girlfriend's son by putting the 2-year-old's face under a faucet and shaking him, the Belleville News-Democrat Reported. Kane Friess-Wylie died in April after being flown to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. The medical examiner said the toddler died of a head injury.

A GoFundMe campaign created to help Kane's mother with funeral expenses said the 2-year-old "left this earth ... in a tragic child abuse tragedy." An obituary for the toddler said he was survived by his mother and father, along with a brother and sister, and noted "Kane's eyes and smile would light up the room wherever he would go." In lieu of flowers, the family asked mourners to make donations to the St. Clair County Child Abuse/Neglect Council.

A person of interest in his death was briefly held by police but released several days after the 2-year-old's death, according to the News-Democrat. Police said an investigation was ongoing, and charges could eventually be filed.

Kane's mother, Lindsey Friess, reportedly returned to her Belleville home on April 13 to find her then-boyfriend holding the 2-year-old, who was conscious but moaning and eventually vomited. An affidavit from an investigator said the boyfriend, who was not Kane's father, put the toddler's "head/face under a water faucet" to try to revive him, the News-Democrat reported. The boyfriend reportedly told police he was in a different room when he heard Kane fall, saying he then carried the child into a bedroom.

The mother told the News-Democrat her ex-boyfriend's story on what happened to Kane has changed several times, and that he had a friend over when the toddler was injured. "I feel like there are people that he knows and talks to that know what actually happened," she said. "And I feel like they should tell me."

No charges have been filed in connection with Kane's death.

A GoFundMe campaign for Lindsey Friess raised more than $7,000 to help pay burial costs for the toddler.

Photo: Kane Friess-Wylie/GoFundMe