Charles "C.J." Tyson Jr
2005 - Apr. 27, 2006
Delray Beach,
Florida, USA
9-month-old Charles "C.J." Tyson Jr. was the son of Shameka Mosley and Charles Tyson, He died at Delray Medical Center after his father hurled him out of a moving car, slammed his tiny body on the hood after picking him up and then tossing him into a canal.
His father, Charles Edward Tyson, 20, received only a 40 year prison sentence for the cruel death of his baby.
Baby Thrown In Florida Canal
Dad, 20, Accused Of Killing Baby In Fight With 17-Year-Old Mother
(AP) A man was charged Thursday with first degree murder after police said he tossed his infant son from a car, slammed the boy onto the vehicle's hood and then threw him into a canal.
Charles Edward Tyson, 20, also faces charges of aggravated child abuse, child endangerment and violating a restraining order, Delray Beach police spokesman Jeffrey Messer said. Messer said Tyson admitted tossing his son into the canal.
"Our detectives were just dumbfounded," he said.
Tyson was held Thursday in the Palm Beach County jail and set to appear in court Friday morning.
Tyson and the child's mother, Shameka Mosley, 17, were driving with the 9-month-old infant early Thursday when Tyson accused her of cheating on him, according to an arrest report.
Mosley stopped the car she was driving and Tyson tossed the child out of the window where he "landed face down in the dirt," according to the report. The man then grabbed the boy by the leg and "in a swinging motion slammed the infant's head onto the hood of Mosley's vehicle," the report said.
Tyson then sped off in the car with the infant, and later stopped and tossed the child into a canal, the report said.
Authorities found the boy floating nearby and attempted to revive him. The infant, Charles Edward Tyson Jr., died a short time later at Delray Medical Center.
"Tyson stated he was aware the infant landed in the canal because he heard a splash," the report said.
Mosley had a restraining order against Tyson issued in December after a domestic violence incident.
Plea deal set in infant's death
40-year sentence issued for throwing baby into canal
Because he has been forgiven by two of those he hurt, Charles Tyson was spared the possibility of the death penalty Monday and instead sentenced to 40 years in prison for tossing his 9-month-old son into a Delray Beach canal nearly two years ago.
Prosecutors had charged Tyson with first-degree murder for the April 2006 death of 9-month-old Charles Jr., but both the baby's mother and grandmother played an instrumental role in Monday's resolution of the case, pushing for a sentence less than life and opposing a death sentence altogether.
Shameka Mosley, the baby's mother, and her mother, Joanne Mosley, have an "amazing capacity" to forgive and expressed their desire for a plea rather than a trial, prosecutor Lanna Belohlavek said.
Tyson, 22, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse and will receive credit for 671 days he has served in jail. He also will be placed on probation for 10 years when he is released.
Shameka Mosley declined to speak at the hearing, but her mother read a statement on her behalf.
"I just want to say that I know Charles loved his son, Charles Jr.," Shameka Mosley wrote. "Being a Christian, I forgave him, but I won't forget."
Delray Beach police Detective Gene Sapino, the arresting officer on the case, told Circuit Judge William Berger that his department was satisfied with the sentence. Later, outside the courtroom, Sapino recalled Tyson's confession.
On the way home from the hospital, where the couple had taken the baby because he was sick, Tyson and Mosley began to argue. Tyson told Sapino that Shameka Mosley said the baby might not belong to Tyson, prompting him to stop the car and throw the baby out of the window. He picked his son up by the leg and slammed him against the car, then drove off with the baby, leaving Mosley by the side of the road. Tyson drove about a half-mile, then threw the baby into a canal and returned to tell Mosley she'd better get Charles Jr. before the alligators do, Sapino said.
In his letters to Shameka Mosley from the jail, Tyson has shown no remorse but has often expressed his desire to reunite with Mosley when he is released, said Sapino, who reviews copies of the letters.
But Tyson's attorneys say the 22-year-old with a ninth-grade education has struggled with anger-management issues since boyhood and is sorry about what he did.
"He's glad it's over," Assistant Public Defender Adrienne Ellis said. "He's very remorseful, he has been since it happened. It's a tough situation. It's tough on both sides."
Ellis said the Mosleys' ability to forgive was "phenomenal" and played a big part in the resolution of the case.
"He's been anxious to get it over with," she said. "He just wanted some closure. ... Both sides have suffered a huge loss."
Ellis declined to provide details about Tyson's mental condition, but Tyson told Berger that the last time he took medication for any mental illness was in 2003.
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