The guardian of a 16-year-old who died in January was charged this week with murder and child abuse, Baltimore authorities said.
A warrant was issued for Johnnie Teague, 51, who is facing charges of first- and second-degree murder, as well as first- and second-degree child abuse. He was arrested Wednesday inside his home in the 400 block of North Clinton Street, where his stepson, Jibreal Payne, was found unresponsive in January, police said.
Officers and medics responded to the Southeast Baltimore home on Jan. 27 and took Payne to the trauma unit of Johns Hopkins Hospital just after 7:00 a.m. He was pronounced dead less than two hours later.
Doctors at the time told police that Payne had a laceration and bleeding in the heart and burn marks on his body, according to charging documents. The Medical Examiner’s Officer completed an autopsy and notified police on Friday that Payne’s death was ruled a homicide. The autopsy found Payne had multiple injuries to the body, including a hemorrhage of the brain, fractured ribs, severe burns and other internal injuries.
At the hospital, Teague told police that his stepson suffers from schizophrenia. He also said that he treated “the burn with aloe, Vaseline and ibuprofen,” according to charging documents.
Teague told police he had been asleep when he heard a loud bang and awoke to find Payne at the bottom of the stairs, according to charging records. He said Payne looked dizzy and he sat him down on a couch before walking away.
An 18-year-old woman in the home, listed as Teague’s daughter in arrest records, made Teague aware that Payne had become unresponsive.
Payne’s mother went to the hospital the day of her son’s death, where she said her son does not live with her and Teague had custody of him, according to charging documents. No paperwork was provided in reference to custody, police noted.
Witnesses have told police that Teague was responsible for Payne’s death, according to charging documents. They alleged Teague “repeatedly beat” Payne and burned him prior to and on the day he was hospitalized.
Teague was also charged 20 years ago in the death of his 1-month-old son in Baltimore County. He and his partner, Quantina Tisdale, were arrested and charged with manslaughter, child abuse and reckless endangerment after the infant died from asphyxia when a rag was put in his mouth on Oct. 15, 2004.
