Mother beat son, 2, to death weeks after regaining custody, cops say (2024)

A Las Vegas mother beat her two-year-old son to death and wheeled his dead body around in a stroller before throwing him in a dumpster, according to police.

Jacoby Robinson Jr. was found dead on Friday, his mom, Diaja Smith, 23, and father, Jacoby Robinson Sr., 24, have been charged with open murder.

Police suspect Smith beat her son to death on Thursday using 'a belt and power cords', as his body was found with 'significant signs of physical injury to [his] head, torso and buttocks,' according to the documents seen by 8NewsNow.

Smith, from Clark County, Nevada, had regained custody of the child - and his two siblings - just weeks prior to his death.

Surveillance footage allegedly shows the parents wheeling their lifeless son out of their apartment complex in a stroller with his twin, who was later found to also have serious injuries.

Jacoby Robinson (pictured) was found deceased in a dumpster in Las Vegas

According to the court documents, Smith called police on Thursday evening to report her son was missing.

She said she had taken them to the park but he had disappeared when she was distracted changing another child's diaper.

Officers arrived at the scene and began searching immediately - and at 12:58 am the next day, the two-year-old's body was found discarded in a dumpster on the 1300 block of Lewis Avenue. He was pronounced at the scene by medical personnel.

Jacoby had 'significant signs of physical injury to the head, torso, and buttocks' consistent with serious physical abuse, according to the court documents.

Police then found surveillance footage showing his parents leaving an apartment complex on Thursday evening with Jacoby and his twin in a stroller.

According to the police report, Jacoby was not moving in the footage, leading police to think he was already dead.

It said: 'She later admitted that in the video of her leaving the apartment with the kids, (redacted) was dead in the stroller.

'She stated she thought about burning his body so she could keep his ashes with her.'

When police and child protective services interviewed the parents they noticed Jacoby's twin also had injuries.

They took him to hospital and discovered he had a bleed on the brain. He has since been placed back in the custody of child protective services.

Pictured:Diaja Smith, 23, in court after being charged with her child's murder

When police searched Smith's apartment they found it was in 'poor condition' with very little food inside.

Police claim that Smith beat the children with 'a belt and power cords' while their father was 'encouraging Diaja to beat them'.

Smith had lost custody of the twins - and a younger child - two years ago, and had only received custody again in May, weeks before the incident.

It is not clear why she was allowed to regain custody. DailyMail.com contacted Clark County Child Protective Services for comment.

Kelvyn Barnet, who lives close to where the child's body was found, told a local station that he saw his mother Diaja searching for him before she was arrested.

The mom was acting hysterical, the onlooker said.

'I saw a lady sitting there with her two other kids, really hysterical saying 'somebody took my kid, somebody took my kid,' Barnett said. 'To find out that she was the one that did this is the most shocking aspect of it all.'

He also said the mother told him that her son disappeared while she was at the park 'and the kid was on the slide and she looked around and the kid was gone.'

The victim's cause of death has not yet been released by the Clark County Coroner's office.

The toddler's father, Jacoby Robinson, 24, was also arrested in connection with his son's murder. He faces two child abuse charges and will be facing a murder charge

Pictured: The dumpsters where the child's lifeless body was found

Both of Jacoby Jr.'s parents appeared in court on Saturday.

Prosecutors allege that Robinson was present in the apartment during the horrific beating and whipping of the child, according toKLAS.

They also claim Robinson remained with the child afterward, even witnessing the child vomit but only helping to clear the vomit out of his mouth and nose before the child went back to sleep.

Prosecutors also said that while Robinson Jr.'s autopsy is ongoing, they have been identified of 'very concerning injuries,' the child's entire body, particularly his genitals, from being whipped with a cord.

It's not clear if either suspect has entered pleas or retained legal counsel.

Mother beat son, 2, to death weeks after regaining custody, cops say (2024)

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