ORLANDO, Fla. — Jurors got to watch interrogation video Tuesday during the trial of an Orange County man accused of beating his 5-year-old son to death.
Prosecutors said that Darell Avant searched Google about how to tell whether someone is unconscious or dead about 30 minutes before he called 911 for help.
It was one of the things detectives honed in on when they interrogated him two days before he was arrested on murder charges.
Detectives said Avant admitted to what amounted to child abuse, but they didn't have the ammunition to arrest him on a murder charge until an autopsy revealed how bad of a beating Darell Avant Jr. suffered.
Read: Father charged with first-degree murder in 5-year-old son's death
"I had him come out and doing pushups because his arms were hurting, and when his arms started hurting, I made him do some squats and he did squats for a pretty long time," said Avant in the video.
He told detectives he was punishing the 5-year-old for getting in trouble at school, but not beating him.
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"Is that normally (what) you make him do (to) discipline him?" asked the detective.
Avant said after letting Darell Jr. shower, he got worried.
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"When I picked him up, his like, his, his head, just like, it was, it was like loose like, you know? You know, he not keeping his head, like, when I pick him up it's just falling backward," Avant said.
Eventually Avant told detectives he was done talking and wanted to leave.
He surrendered clothes later found to be stained with Darell Jr.'s blood, and his cellphone, with all internet history inside it.
Digital forensics expert James Montgomery told the jury that Avant was busy trying to figure out whether his son was dead and how to possibly revive him on the floor of their apartment.
"Video how to check an infant's pulse for CPR, once again, from the e-How website," said Montgomery.
Prosecutors claim the delay cost Darell Jr. his life.
Cox Media Group
