ISLE OF WIGHT CO., Va. - After a young boy died in the hospital, his mother and the mother's boyfriend sit behind bars charged with murdering the child.
Levi Robertson, Jaye Hadley and Justin Cox
The medical examiner ruled blunt force trauma to the head was the cause of five-year-old Alexander Levi Robertson's death. Both the child's mother, 32-year-old Jaye Hadley and the mother's boyfriend, 33-year-old Justin Cox, were charged with child abuse and aggravated malicious wounding, but the charges were upped to murder after the child's passing.
They both appeared in court Monday, where a judge ruled there is enough evidence to move forward in the case.
On January 8, Isle of Wight deputies were called to a home on Yellowhammer Road in Zuni for an unresponsive child. Robertson was rushed to CHKD, where he was hooked up to life support but died the following week on Tuesday night, according to the child's father.
According to court documents, Hadley told police the child fell and hit his head on the drywall. Deputies report they found significant bruising on the child's body, including shoe prints on the child's backside.
According to a search warrant, investigators found pictures of the young victim with words and obscene shapes written in ink across his forehead. The images, according to court documents, came from texts and chat messages between Hadley and Cox.
The new search warrant also says the phones and Facebook accounts of the two accused were searched, and investigators found conversations that were related to discipline of the little boy.
News 3 has been staying in close communication with Josh Robertson, the child victim's biological father, who has expressed his heartbreak over the situation since Levi was first flown to CHKD. He told our crews he will continue to grieve and seek justice for his son.
Josh's mother - Levi's grandmother, Sherry Booth - was at court for the preliminary hearing and said she is relieved to see the case is moving forward and that the murder charges were not reduced.
There is no trial date set yet; News 3 is following the story closely. Stay with us for all updates.
Related:
Mother's boyfriend charged with second degree murder in Isle of Wight child abuse case
Five-year-old boy in Isle of Wight child abuse case dies from injuries
