Tacoma police say a 2-year-old boy who was found not breathing in an apartment near downtown last week has died, and newly filed court documents describe the injuries and interviews investigators reviewed before the child’s death.
Officers were sent to the 000 block of St. Helens at about 10:20 a.m. on Nov. 13 after Tacoma Fire Department crews responded to a report of a toddler who was not breathing.
Firefighters began life-saving efforts and told officers the injuries they saw did not match what the child’s caregiver said had happened, according to police.
The boy was taken to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, where doctors found several small brain bleeds, signs of an anoxic brain injury and possible bruising to the small intestine.
Detectives wrote in court records that the child had extensive bruising to his face, ears, chest, stomach and legs.
Medical staff told investigators the injuries were not consistent with a fall and said there was no medical explanation for why the child stopped breathing.
According to court documents, the child’s mother’s boyfriend, 26-year-old Colby Allen Sorrells, told detectives he put the boy down for a nap around 8:45 a.m. and later found him unresponsive.
He said he called the child’s mother and then dialed 911 after being instructed to begin CPR.
He also told investigators the child had recently fallen down stairs, which he said explained the bruising.
Detectives wrote that the boy’s mother initially defended Sorrells’ care for her children, but in a later interview that lasted nearly four hours, she described several incidents in which she said she had seen Sorrells strike or forcibly handle the toddler and his older sibling.
She told investigators she had seen him hit the child in the stomach with a closed fist, yank him by the arm, slap him across the face, and lift him by his hair.
She also provided detectives with text messages Sorrells sent while caring for the children, including a photo of the toddler being forced to do a wall-sit as punishment.
The mother told detectives the boy was awake, acting normally and eating breakfast before she left for work around 8:18 a.m. that morning.
She said it was not normal for him to nap at 10 a.m.
Police initially arrested Sorrells on Nov. 13 on suspicion of first-degree assault of a child.
Prosecutors filed a formal charge on Nov. 17, alleging Sorrells intentionally assaulted a child younger than 13 and caused great bodily harm.
The charge also listed aggravating factors, including claims that he used a position of trust and that the victim was particularly vulnerable.
The Pierce County prosecutor’s office tells KIRO 7 News his charges will be upgraded to homicide.
The Tacoma Police Department said the boy died at the hospital on Nov. 19.
A judge set Sorrells’ bail at $2 million and ordered him to follow strict release conditions if posted, including no contact with the child’s mother, her children or any witnesses.
According to the Pierce County jail roster, Sorrell is still in custody.
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