Video Shows The Moment Cash Gernon, 4, Was Kidnapped From His Bed Prior To His Murder
The suspect later returns to
Facebook & Dallas County Jail In a bizarre story with many twists and turns, a 4-year-old was found dead and bloodied with multiple stab wounds in the middle of a street in a Dallas neighborhood on Saturday, May 15.
Later that night, authorities arrested and charged a teenager in connection with the boy’s death. The suspect faces charges of kidnapping, robbery and murder. Charges are likely to be upgraded following the official cause of death by authorities.
The young boy’s twin brother, Carter, was taken into state custody at first for safety reasons and later returned to his biological mother who had been looking for the boy for some time. Both Cash and Carter had been taken from their biological mother by his father and then left at the biological father's girlfriend's house who was watching the boys at the time of the kidnapping and murder.
What happened to Cash Gernon? Details about who has been arrested and charged for the murder.
The mother of the victim identified him as Cash Gernon, according to ABC 8. The child was found dead in the middle of a road with multiple wounds which Police spokesman Albert Martinez said appeared to be sustained from an “edged weapon.”
The road is located in the Mountain Creek neighborhood in Dallas. The body of the victim was found by a jogger at 7 a.m.
“We are shocked, we are very angry about what has happened to this small child,” Martinez said.
Authorities arrested 18-year-old Darriynn Brown on Saturday night and he was booked into the Dallas County jail early Sunday. Authorities say Brown lived around a half a mile away from where the child was found.
The mother of the victim also said that Cash was asleep in his room when Brown broke into the home and kidnapped the boy. She says the incident was caught on camera thanks to security footage from the home.
Watch The Cash Gernon abduction video and what does it show?
The boy's brother, Kamron Mori, told ABC that "It shows him coming in. Took him while he was asleep. While he is asleep! He carried him out of my house while he is asleep."
Brown is seen watching the boy and his twin brother sleep for a minute or so and then he lifts Cash out of the bed and leaves the house with him.
He later returns and stares at the other twin aproximately 2 hours later, touching his head. Brown appears to get startled and leaves without taking Cash's twin brother Carter, who remains alseep in the crib. The suspect had an ankle monitor on his leg at the time of the break-in, which is from another unrelated charge.
Who are Cash Gernon's real parents, and where were they?
But the mother of the victim was only serving as a temporary guardian, and Mori was not his actual brother at all.
According to a local ABC affiliate, Cash's biological father had left the boy and his brother with the family of Mori after he and Mori's mother had broken up. Mori said that the boys became like brothers to him.
"That was my brother," Mori told ABC. "I don’t care if nobody told me he wasn’t. He was."
Dallas police say that a woman by the name of Melinda Seagroves is actually Cash Gernon's biological mother. Apparently, the boys' father had taken them from their home and Seagroves has been looking for them every since.
A Facebook post alleged to be from the boys' guardian's father shone some light on the complex situation.
In his post, he mentions that a parent of the children allegedly abandoned the children, likely pointing to their father who had left them with Mori's mother. This could explain why the twin brother of the victim was taken into state custody. He also alleges that the victim was raped prior to his death.
Photo: Leesa Jones / Facebook
What was the reaction to the tragedy by the neighbors and the community?
Antwainese Square, a resident in the area, was jogging around 6:40 a.m. when she came across a figure in the middle of the road. The 39-year-old said she thought it was a dog at first due to the hair she could see but it became clear to her it was a child as she got closer.
“That’s when I noticed the baby had ants at the bottom of his feet so I knew he was deceased then,” Square said. “It was heart-wrenching because this baby could have been no more than 5.”
She described the boy as having blood across his face and the upper half of his body. He also was said by both the neighbor and police to not have any shoes or a shirt on.
“As a mother, this just — it breaks my heart. It breaks my heart. And now I’m afraid. Now I’m paranoid. Because I don’t know what happened, I don’t know what’s going on,” Square said. “I mean just knowing that someone out there is capable of killing a child, that alone is just unsettling. So I am praying that that baby gets justice.”
Lila Gilbert, 18, said the neighborhood is usually quiet and was shocked by the news of such a horrific incident.
“It’s a lot to take in,” Gilbert said. “It’s so shocking to me that it’s a 4-year-old, someone’s baby. That could’ve been my little cousin or brother or something. It’s just the point that he’s gone now. It’s just terrifying.”
Christine Villarreal, a neighbor who lives a street away from where the body was found, said the community was scared and left wondering how something like this could happen.
What happens next for the suspect and the investigation?
As more evidence is gathered and inspected, the charges facing Brown are subject to change and can possibly be upgraded depending on what evidence is found.
Brown is currently behind bars on a $750,000 bond, according to jail records.
“Through the hard work of the men and women of the Dallas Police Department this criminal was brought to justice and it would not have been made possible without the Dallas FBI Evidence Response Team and the public’s assistance,” the police department said.
Anyone with information about the case may call 911 or the police child abuse unit at 214-275-1300.
Tomás Diniz Santos is a writer living in Orlando, Florida. He covers news, entertainment, and pop-culture topics.