Ohio grandmother charged with murder of 5-year-old grandson after allegedly beating him to death

The grandmother initially said her 5-year-old grandson had fallen off of a bed.

September 22, 2019, 5:32 AM

A grandmother from Toledo, Ohio, has been charged with murder after she allegedly admitted to hitting her grandson so hard that he eventually died from the injuries.

The Toledo Fire Department responded to a call on Thursday from Yisenya Flores after she reported that her 5-year-old grandson had fallen off of a bed in her home, according to ABC’s Toledo affiliate station WTVG.

Flores allegedly claimed that her grandson, Anjuan M. Hare III, had jumped from a box spring mattress that was laid on its side onto a carpeted floor and injured himself in the fall.

Medics immediately initiated life-saving measures and immediately transported Hare to Toledo Hospital where he eventually died.

PHOTO: Yisenya Flores in a police booking photo.
Yisenya Flores in a police booking photo.
Lucas County Jail

Staff members then told the authorities that Hare’s injuries were not consistent with a fall from a bed as Flores had claimed, according to court documents obtained by WTVG.

Police interviewed Flores who then admitted to hitting the child the previous day but did not call 9-1-1 until the following evening even though her grandson was allegedly “lethargic and semi-unresponsive” and was allegedly unable to get up from the floor after she hit him, according to the court documents.

The coroner discovered evidence that Hare had also been suffering from Battered Child Syndrome, which means that he had older blunt-force trauma injuries that were healing and that the alleged abuse was ongoing.

Flores was in court on Friday facing a charge of child endangerment and was held in jail in lieu of a $500,000 bond that was set during her arraignment by the court.

The murder charge was added on Saturday and Flores is expected to face a judge for the new charge on Monday morning.