Police suspect 2-year-old killed by mother’s boyfriend
Police suspect a 2-year-old girl was killed Monday by her mother’s boyfriend.
Detectives are investigating Jason J. Obermiller in the death of 2-year-old Adalynn Hoyt, according to court documents. An arrest warrant has been issued for Obermiller.
Residents in the home in the 3300 block of East 55th Avenue called 911 around 1:20 p.m. Monday to report that the girl wasn’t breathing. A crew from Spokane County Fire District 8 called deputies to the scene after they found the girl cold to the touch, according to court documents.
Hoyt’s mother, 28-year-old Lovina Rainey, told detectives that she had gone out drinking the night before around 10:45 p.m. and left her four children in the care of Obermiller, who lived with her. She said she didn’t check on the children when she came home at 3 a.m. even though she noticed that Obermiller was gone. Rainey said she thought Adalynn was asleep when she checked on her at 11 a.m., according to court documents.
A 4-year-old girl is the one who discovered the toddler wasn’t breathing, according to court documents.
The medical examiner determined that Hoyt died as a result of a kick or punch to the abdomen and could have been alive for up to 30 minutes after the strike, according to court documents.
Obermiller has a lengthy criminal history that includes convictions for assault, domestic violence assault and violation of a protection order. He is currently wanted on a U.S. marshal’s warrant in addition to the murder warrant.
Another man who has been living in the home, a convicted felon who reportedly told detectives that he’s a gang member, said he often cared for the children because Rainey “does not pay much attention to the children,” according to court documents. He also told investigators that Obermiller is a drug user, court documents state.
A woman who used to live in the home told detectives that after Obermiller moved in she started seeing bruises on Hoyt’s face and body and thought she was being abused, according to court documents. She said she told Rainey about her concerns and was then forced out of the home by Obermiller.
Detectives found several ounces of methamphetamine, heroin, electronic scales, a ledger that appeared to include drug transaction records and a handgun inside the home. The three other children living in the home, ranging in age from 4 to 8, have been placed with Child Protective Services.
Hoyt’s death is the third death of a young child in the last month. On Aug. 27, Joseph J. Davis was arrested in Coeur d’Alene and charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 16-month-old stepson, Maliki Willburn. Investigators state the child had severe head trauma.
On Aug. 29, paramedics responded to the 19600 block of East Wellesley Avenue on a report of an infant not breathing. The 3-week-old infant was found face-down underneath a recliner. His parents told investigators that they had gone out drinking the night before. The case is still under investigation.
A fourth child was severely injured in what doctors called a textbook case of shaken baby syndrome on Aug. 28. Emergency crews responded to the child’s home at 501 E. Baldwin Ave. on a report that 2-month-old Sequoia Smith wasn’t breathing. Her father, Sebastian Smith, reportedly told investigators that he had sometimes shaken the baby when she wouldn’t stop crying. Charges have not yet been filed in the case.