MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - A 4-year-old Frayser boy is dead, his father told police an older child hit the boy in the head with a stick and now it's a homicide investigation.
It happened outside a home in the 2000 block of Pamela, near Frayser Boulevard and North Watkins. The boy was hit on September 4 and he was taken to LeBonheur Children's Hospital that night, where he slipped into a coma. He died Tuesday, September 11.
Teresa Farmer has lived on Pamela for a year and a half. She says investigators have come to her door twice in the last week, "A Lieutenant came and said homicide, I was like, homicide?! He said it was a murder investigation, I was like oh God, Jesus, no."
She only knew the boy next door as the four-year-old who loved basketball. "I really hope they get to the bottom of it because I want to know what happened to that baby. Baby was a cute boy."
Police say, according to the boy's father, the four-year-old was playing in his front yard when another child hit him in the head with a stick. Later that night he was transported to the hospital where he slipped into a coma.
Hattie Carrick, who lives across the street, says, "It's just a shocking thing." Carrick and her granddaughter, Paige Lee, haven't seen the family since Monday, which is unusual. Lee says, "They are always at home, always, all day."
Homicide investigators are asking for anyone with information to contact them. Neighbors believe one person should have the answers. Lee questions, "You can't find answers, why? That's the weird part, this is your child and you don't know what happened to your child?"
Farmer didn't see anything, but also questions the story, "They never walk in this area, that story, I'm not buying. Saying a 9 to 12 year old came and hit a child with a stick?"
Police have not released the boy's name and have not released a description of the suspect.
