Mother’s boyfriend convicted of killing 2-year-old in Essex in 2019, Baltimore Co. prosecutors say

Original Source: https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-co-cr-homicide-conviction-20210728-ybxnudzdvnhobbbbvnqzyxywbe-story.html

By COLIN CAMPBELL | BALTIMORE SUN | JUL 28, 2021 AT 6:55 PM

An Essex man was convicted Wednesday of child abuse in the death of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son in June 2019, Baltimore County prosecutors announced.

David Marvin Haas, 31, could face up to life in prison for the first-degree abuse of a child under 13 and assault convictions. He pleaded not guilty but was convicted by a jury in Baltimore County Circuit Court.

“I want to thank Lisa Dever and Erin Anello who prosecuted this case and the dedicated members of the Baltimore County Police and Fire Departments for their hard work to bring David Haas to justice for victimizing and taking the life of an innocent 2-year-old boy,” Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger said in a statement.

“We must continue to do all we can to protect the most vulnerable of our society from such evil.”

The public defender who represented Haas in the case could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday evening.

The death of the boy, whose name was not released, was ruled a homicide by the state medical examiner’s office, which found blunt-force trauma injuries on his body, prosecutors said.

Haas called 911 just before 9 p.m. June 29, 2019, to report a cardiac arrest in the 900 block of Garden Drive in Essex, where he was babysitting his girlfriend’s son when the toddler stopped breathing, according to police.

The boy was taken to MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The county police homicide unit was contacted because of his age and injuries.

The injuries the boy suffered were “significantly inconsistent” with the account of events Haas gave to police, prosecutors said.