Marquavious D. Ware, 19, has been arrested for brutally killing his 4-year-old child, Jahorden Clay, beating the young boy to death in a stomach-churning assault.
The Portland Police Department released a statement on the horrific incident and the desperate attempts to save the young boy, in which they said:
A four-year-old boy died after suffering suspicious injuries, and his father has been arrested on a murder charge.
On Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 12:32 p.m., East Precinct officers responded to an emergency call to assist paramedics in the 6400 block of Northeast Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in the Piedmont Neighborhood. The young child had suffered significant trauma and was unconscious. He was transported by ambulance to Legacy Emanuel Hospital where, despite lifesaving efforts by medical staff, he died of his injuries.
The Portland Police Bureau Child Abuse Team (CAT) and Homicide Unit detectives responded to the scene to investigate.
The child’s father, Marquavious D. Ware, 19, was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of Murder in the Second Degree and Criminal Mistreatment in the First Degree.
If anyone has information about this case, please contact Detective Jeff Sharp [email protected] or 503-823-9773, or Detective Mike Jones at [email protected] or 503-823-0405, and reference case number 23-114972.
The medical examiner will confirm the child’s identity and determine cause and manner of his death.
Watch the KATU News report on the horrific homicide here:
Sickeningly, Marquavious had been arrested for assault and let off numerous times, as journalist Andy Ngo pointed out on Twitter, saying: “Breaking: A 19-year-old has been arrested in #Portland, Ore. after allegedly beating his 4-year-old child to death on May 3. As a juvenile, Marquavious D. Ware was charged over the 2018 beating of a man on a MAX public transport train in front of his wife & child, breaking his jaw. The man had asked him to turn down his loud rap music before being jumped. Marquavious’ violent charges were frequently dropped.”
Breaking: A 19-year-old has been arrested in #Portland, Ore. after allegedly beating his 4-year-old child to death on May 3. As a juvenile, Marquavious D. Ware was charged over the 2018 beating of a man on a MAX public transport train in front of his wife & child, breaking his… pic.twitter.com/TJNhHH9bYb
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) May 4, 2023
Oregon Live, reporting on the tumultuous courtroom proceedings in which Marquavious pleaded not guilty to the killing of the 4-year-old and was arraigned for the homicide, said:
The 19-year-old stood silently as a defense attorney entered the plea, but behind him came sobs and ragged breath.
“He’s staring at me,” said Jonicia Clay, 21, the boy’s mother. “He did it on purpose.”
Clay, sitting in the gallery among a group of about 10 people who identified themselves as the victim’s family, was shaking and flushed. She clutched a child’s rain jacket and rain boots. She told police Ware had wanted custody and that the boy had been with his father for about a month.
The murdered boy’s aunt said, during the arraignment proceedings, said, “I want my nephew to get justice. I want to be strong for my sister, for my family, but it’s hard. I made a bed today that he’ll never sleep in. I put away toys today that he’ll never play with again. He was supposed to be protected and he wasn’t.”
Deputies had to separate family members of the victim and family members of the accused, as they got into a fight in the courtroom, and a fight also broke out on the steps of the courthouse.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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