Man Charged With Murder in Death of 3-Year-Old Boy in Brooklyn

A 29-year-old man has been charged with killing a 3-year-old Brooklyn boy who was found with head injuries in a bathtub at the building where the child’s mother had left him in the care of a neighbor, the police said on Tuesday

The man, Kevin James, faces charges of murder, assault and acting in a manner injurious to a child in the death of the boy, Denim Brown, the police said. Mr. James was awaiting arraignment Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

Mr. James and the child lived in the same building on New York Avenue in East Flatbush, the police said.

Few details about the circumstances surrounding the killing were available on Tuesday. The police had said earlier that officers answering a 911 call at about 9:45 p.m. Sunday found the boy, who had sustained trauma to his head, face down in the bathtub and unconscious. He was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the police said.

It was initially unclear whether the child’s injuries were accidental or a result of foul play, but New York City’s medical examiner subsequently ruled the death a homicide, the police said. An autopsy determined that the boy had drowned and that his head injuries contributed to his death, Julie Bolcer, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office, said.

Maria Cramer contributed reporting.