The Erie County Sheriff's Office says a Salamanca man has been arrested and charged with murdering the 3-year-old son of his live-in girlfriend.
The incident occurred early Tuesday morning on Sulpher Springs Road on the Seneca Nation of Indians Reservation in Salamanca.
At a news briefing in downtown Buffalo Wednesday morning, Sheriff Timothy Howard said 30-year-old Justin Crouse of Salamanca has been arrested and will be charged with second degree murder in the death of Gage Seneca.
An autopsy revealed the boy died from blunt force trauma.
Howard says the boy's mother found her son in his bed not breathing around 8 a.m. Tuesday. He says she was sleeping at the time of the incident and didn't discover the child for several hours.
"Mr. Crouse woke up at about 1 o'clock in the morning, went out into the living room and found the 3-year-old child out of his bed. In the process of taking the child back to his bedroom, there was contact made by Mr. Crouse on the child that caused the injury that ultimately caused the death," Howard said.
Seneca was transported to Lakeshore Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The autopsy was conducted soon thereafter.
Howard said Crouse is a large man, 6'3" tall and "powerfully build."
"I couldn't even begin to suggest any defense here that someone of that size would use any significant amount of force against a three-year-old child and then not make further inquiries as to his condition or seek treatment," Howard said.
"[There] is definitely something very criminal here."
Crouse will be arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Brant Town Court.