Boyfriend of 1-year-old's mother accused of toddler's 2024 murder in DC
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A Washington, D.C. man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of his girlfriend's 1-year-old daughter, according to local authorities and court documents.
The toddler, Journee Moore, died on Sept. 28, 2024, from multiple blunt force injuries, and the medical examiner in the District of Columbia ruled her death a homicide, the Metropolitan Police Department said on May 9.
Wayne Blake, 24, of Northwest Washington, D.C., was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, and cruelty to children, police said.
USA TODAY contacted Blake's public defender on May 14 but has not received a response.
Toddler had multiple injuries, including rib fractures
Someone called police to a home in northwest Washington, D.C., around 10:49 p.m. on Sept. 28, court documents filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, which USA TODAY obtained, say.
Police found Journee unconscious in the apartment complex lobby, according to the court documents. The girl's mother and Blake were performing CPR on the child before emergency responders rushed the girl to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead by 11:32 p.m., the document continued.
Investigators stated the girl had at least six bruises, contusions, or lacerations on her body, including a healed bruise on her ankle and a 'fresh bruise on her inner lower lip,' court documents show.
The medical examiner's office also discovered she had a liver laceration and rib fractures, court documents show. The lacerated liver occurred within 12 hours of the girl's death, while the rib fracture happened closer to her death, the document says.
Wayne Blake told police he found toddler 'balled up on the floor'
Blake told police he and the toddler's mother stepped out of a bedroom in the apartment for 5 to 10 minutes, and when he returned, Journee was 'balled up on the floor,' according to court documents.
He added that the girl was limping, so he picked her up, put her on the bed, and performed CPR. Blake said the girl's mother wanted to call for an ambulance, but he didn't, the court documents say.
At the hospital, Blake told an officer, 'I feel (expletive) bad as (expletive),' and suggested the girl suffocated on a pillow, according to the court document.
When retelling the story of the girl's emergency, Blake said he and her mother were at the apartment all day aside from when they briefly went to the front of the building, per court documents.
Wayne Blake tried waking Journee up when he 'hit her real hard'
Blake said the toddler would sometimes stay at the apartment, which he shared with a family member and roommate, per court documents.
Journee got sick on Sept. 26 at daycare and had to be picked up, her mother said in court documents. She also had a fever and couldn't return to daycare until the next week.
Blake told investigators that sometimes Journee would sleep in his roommate's room. On Sept. 28, the girl slept most of the day, then sometime after 7:00 p.m., Blake cooked some food.
Blake recalled feeding the girl in his roommate's room, and then he and the toddler fell asleep together, court documents say. At some point, Blake went to his own room, he told police, per the documents.
When Blake went to check on the girl a little later, she was 'wrapped in a blanket, doubled over, and on the floor next to the bed,' he told authorities. He noted that the toddler often fell from the bed, but this day it had happened about three times, and she wasn't crying, according to court documents.
Blake realized the girl was unconscious and tried waking her up by calling her name, and he also 'hit her real hard,' per court documents. Eventually, his roommate came up, and Blake told him to get help, so he went to the lobby and called 911.
Blake and the toddler's mother would then take the girl to the lobby.
Mother previously noticed bruises on Journee
The toddler's mother told investigators she was in a "domestic violence relationship" with Blake, and incidents sometimes took place in front of her daughter, per court documents.
The girl's mother recalled a time in August 2024 when she asked Blake to watch the girl while she worked. The next time she saw her daughter, the girl had bruises on her face and a cut on her lower lip, according to court records.
When the mother asked Blake about it, he said the baby slipped in the bathroom, which she thought was an "odd explanation." She also said she saw Blake shake her child, even after being told to stop, court documents say.
The mother told police she did not call authorities or take her daughter to the hospital because she thought Child Protective Services would take the toddler away from her, per court documents.
Authorities also looked at surveillance footage and saw Blake enter an elevator holding the girl at 11:03 a.m. on the day she died. She seemed healthy, police said in court documents.
The footage showed him carrying her a few minutes later, and again, she seemed to "be in good health."
"During the ride, the defendant began bouncing the decedent in what could be described as excessive," authorities wrote in court documents.
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.
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