Officials Describe Violent Abuse Of Dominick Calhoun

The Argentine Township man accused of killing a 4-year-old boy said the child was "a crackhead" and he "deserved to die" after the child urinated on himself as he ate breakfast on a couch, officials said.

Brandon Joshua-Frederick Hayes, formerly of Tyrone Township, tortured, "savagely beat" and kicked his girlfriend's son, Dominick Calhoun, beginning April 8, after the boy wet himself, Sheriff Robert Pickell said Thursday at a news conference announcing criminal charges against Hayes.

"He was trying to give a sense of discipline to little Dominick," Pickell said.

Hayes, 24, also beat the boy's mother, Corrine Baker, and pulled out her hair while demanding to know who would pay for the damage to the soiled sofa, the sheriff said. The following day, Hayes allegedly kicked the boy in his genitals and head.

On Saturday, Hayes dragged the listless and unconscious child from his bed by the arm and continued to hit and kick him "again and again throughout the day," Pickell said.

Hayes also told Corrine Baker, "Dominick was nothing more than a crackhead and deserved to die," Pickell said.

The beatings ended Sunday when Corrine Baker's younger sister came to the apartment and saw the bruises, the sheriff said. She told Dominick's grandfather, who called police at about 2:30 p.m. saying they needed help because "his grandson was dying," the sheriff added.

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• Brandon Joshua-Frederick Hayes
• Corrine Baker
• Dominick Calhoun
• Sheriff Robert Pickell