Frank Eltman
Police investigate the death of an Amityville child's death.
AMITYVILLE — An arrest has been made in the slaying of a 4-year-old boy found alone inside a Long Island apartment after an anonymous 911 call, police said Saturday.
Jonathan Thompson, 31, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Adonis Reed, Suffolk County police said in a news release.
Adonis was found unconscious on a couch in an apartment in a private house on a quiet Amityville street on Wednesday afternoon. He was pronounced dead at a hospital, and his death was classified as a homicide. Detectives said he showed signs of being assaulted.
Suffolk County police Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick told reporters Wednesday night that Adonis was "a victim of violence."
Thompson's home address is the same as the residence where the boy was found. He was arrested in Brooklyn with the help of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Thompson was in custody Saturday and not immediately available for comment. He is scheduled to be arraigned later in the day.
Neighbor Eric Erath told reporters on Thursday that he used to see the little boy and his 6-year-old sister occasionally playing around the house, but he couldn't recall the last time. "Every time I used to see them, they were both very cheerful," said Erath, who lives next door.
He said he never saw any signs of abuse. "I do not believe anything like that happened," he said.
The boy's sister was in the custody of county child welfare officials, police said. It wasn't clear if the children lived at the apartment.
The apartment house where the boy's body was found is in a middle-class neighborhood with a hodgepodge of old and new architecture. The apartment is in a two-story Victorian-style house with yellow shingles.
Arrest made in death of Amityville boy, 4
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Arrest made in death of Amityville boy, 4
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Arrest made in death of Amityville boy, 4
