MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Memphis police filed murder charges Friday against the father of a 3-year-old boy whose body was found in a large trash bin.
Officers said in a news release that 28-year-old Maurice Brown Sr. was given the upgraded first-degree murder charge. He had reported the boy missing Sunday night, saying he woke up from a nap and the boy was gone.
The body of Maurice Brown Jr. was found Tuesday, about a mile from where he was staying with his father. The medical examiner ruled Friday that the cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma.
The father is being held on $1 million bond. He was originally charged with aggravated child neglect or endangerment, and charges of murder in perpetration of aggravated child neglect or endangerment, murder in perpetration of aggravated child abuse and resisting official detention were added to the previous charges.
Additionally, police said Brown refused to comply with fingerprinting Friday, a brief struggle followed and he was sprayed with a chemical agent.
Authorities said they did not know if he had a lawyer who could speak in his behalf about the charges.