A man high on drugs was found guilty of murdering a 6-month-old baby. Dwayne Lindsey was found guilty for the killing of Chayse Dearing in June 2016. According to The Age , the 34-year-old had proposed marriage to the boy’s mother , Michelle Dearing, just two days before the horrendous attack.
In an apparent justification of his crime, the Melbourne man claimed that he fell asleep with the infant on his chest and woke up hysterical, mistaking him for a spider. Lindsey said his actions made the 6-month-old baby fall off his chest and slam his head against a wall heater.
However, a post-mortem examination showed that baby Chayse had suffered spinal cord injuries, severe brain damage, retinal bleeding as well as groin bruises before he died. Dwayne Lindsey initially pleaded not guilty for the death of baby Chayse but later changed his story, admitting that he might have caused the death of the child by shaking him violently.
Prosecutor Nicholas Papas QC countered Lindsey’s explanation, arguing that Chayse’s injuries were not in any way synonymous with being shaken, adding that the 6-month-old baby’s death was definitely not accidental.
BREAKING: jury finds Dwayne Lindsey guilty of murdering his girlfriend’s 6 month old baby Chayse Dearing at Glenroy 2016 @9NewsMelb pic.twitter.com/sDgyIEBg2r
— Jayde Vincent (@JaydeVincent) March 11, 2018
During the trial, a neighbor testified that he heard Lindsey swearing loudly. The neighbor also claimed he heard stomping sounds and a frightening howl. Another witness said the 34-year-old had allegedly been using crystal methamphetamine days before Chayse’s demise. The witness also claimed that Lindsey was high on drugs when he brutally assaulted the infant.
According to the Daily Mail , Chayse’s mother and two of her friends had left the baby with Lindsey and gone shopping at a 24-hour Kmart around 4 a.m. after a drug binge. All four adults had smoked crystal meth for hours before leaving the Glenroy residence. According to court documents, Lindsey called Michelle a little after 8 a.m. to tell her that the baby was no longer breathing. Michelle and her friends had returned back to the house to find paramedics treating Chayse whose color had turned a bluish-grey.
He died two days later in a hospital.
Chayse Dearing was bashed to death by his mother’s boyfriend, who blew a kiss and laughed in court after a jury declared him guilty. #7News pic.twitter.com/0IjL2KiDNv
— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) March 11, 2018
The jury returned with a guilty verdict Sunday afternoon, stating that Dwayne Lindsey intended to kill or cause severe injury to the 6-month-old boy. The 34-year-old man showed little remorse for his actions by blowing a kiss at Chayse Dearing’s family in the courtroom as he was led away.
Lindsey and Michelle had only been dating for three months when they got engaged. The brutal attack on the 6-month-old baby occurred two days later.
