A 14-month-old Simpsonville baby passed away on Christmas eve after succumbing to the severe injuries induced by his father, said the Greenville County Coroner's Office. The child was pronounced dead just before 11 AM by the Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital on Tuesday. He was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit on Saturday. Reason stated for the death was blunt force trauma.
The Coroner said that the baby, Kingston Clark, was with his sibling and his father on Saturday when the incident occurred. Greenville County Coroner Parks Evans said that the autopsy would happen on Thursday.
Abuse charges against father to be upgraded
The father, Ashton Clark, was arrested for inducing the injuries on the young boy. The earlier charges of abuse was upgraded to homicide after the child passed away on Tuesday. The child's grandfather said the incident was saddening for the family as they are at a loss of words since the incident.
The police was called into the child's unresponsive state on Saturday after the father hit the kid's head against the wall twice and threw the child towards two separate furniture. During the arrest, he was taken in with a bond of $25,000 for great bodily injury and for not providing immediate care that endangered the child's health.
On Tuesday the charges were upgraded to homicide by child abuse. Clark remains in custody with no bond. The child's grandfather said that he was happy all the time.
Previous cases were reported against Clark
WYFF News 4 Investigates saw that Clark's criminal history indicated that he was previously arrested in 2017 and was charged with providing for the delinquency of a minor. Clark had pleaded guilty for those charges and paid fine in instalments. He made the final payment on Friday a day before his most recent arrest. Court records showed that he has pending charges from February for the distribution of methamphetamine.
