Toddler Killed By Bear Hug: Babysitter’s Tight Bear Hug Kills 14-Month-Old Toddler Boy

A babysitter’s tight bear hug kills a toddler in a tragedy hardly ever heard of. Organburg County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina arrested 26-year-old Robert Christian Kemp on involuntary manslaughter charges — one year after the 14-month-old boy’s death.

The Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office say Kemp was a family friend, this just out by WBTW News 13. The police were called to a residence on Maxwell Place on June 27, 2013 over an unresponsive child.

WAFF 48 has Sheriff Ravenell’s recollection of the event that unfolded when they arrived at the scene:

“We were called to a residence on Maxwell Place on June 27 in reference to an unresponsive child. Our initial investigation indicated the child was placed in his crib by a resident in the house to take a nap. The 14-month-old was discovered by that same household resident to be unresponsive and CPR was performed.”

According to reports, forensics discovered Jaylen Harris died from asphyxiation. Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office report that said Jaylen was given “a bear hug, squeezing the victim so tight that the victim stopped breathing as a result causing the toddler’s death.”

According to USA Today, the toddler didn’t respond to cardio-pulmonary resuscitation after the tight hug given to him by Kemp.

After Jaylen died, his family sought donations for the child’s funeral costs at GiveForward.com; they stopped the campaign four days before his funeral services.

Orangeburg County Chief Deputy Coroner Sean Fogle confirmed the toddler died soon after the bear hug.

Investigation into the child’s death took one year. Fogle said the bear hug that killed the toddler ended up being a case that took quite some time to come up with answers.

Kemp was arrested on July 15 on a charge of involuntary manslaughter. Kemp’s bond was set by Orangeburg Magistrate Peggy Doremus at $10,000 cash or surety with a 10-percent option Wednesday 9 am.

If convicted, Kemp faces up to five years in prison.

Jaylen’s family requested donations for the his funeral costs at GiveForward.com; USA Today reports that the campaign ended four days before his services. Relatives of Jaylen wrote on the site:

“Baby Jaylen Harris passed away in his sleep of natural causes. He was 14 months old. He was the sweetest, happiest baby you would ever meet. He was a blessing and a joy to this family.”

Bear hugs can kill toddlers or very small children if squeezed too tightly, as this story informs.

[Image via The Blow Off]