Man charged with murder of three-year-old boy in Brooklyn

A 29-year-old man has been charged with killing a 3-year-old Brooklyn boy who was found with head injuries in a bathtub in the building where the child’s mother had left him in the care of a neighbor, police said. Tuesday

The man, Kevin James, is charged with murder, assault and acting in a manner harmful to a child in the death of the boy, Denim Brown, police said. Mr. James was awaiting arraignment Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

Mr. James and the child lived in the same building on New York Avenue in East Flatbush, police said.

Few details were available Tuesday about the circumstances surrounding the killing. Police had previously said that officers responding to a 911 call around 9:45 p.m. Sunday found the boy, who had suffered head trauma, face down in the bathtub and unconscious. He was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

It was initially unclear whether the child’s injuries were accidental or the result of foul play, but the New York City medical examiner subsequently ruled the death a homicide, police said. An autopsy showed that the boy drowned and that his head injuries contributed to his death, said Julie Bolcer, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office.

Maria Cramer contributed to the reporting.