A Rogers Park man accused of killing his 12-week-old son later told detectives that a demon inside him caused the baby’s fatal injuries, according to a detention filing from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said the child, Kayson Flowers, died from multiple injuries due to child abuse. His father, 24-year-old Anthony Evans, is charged with first-degree murder.
Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Pekara said Evans had an on-and-off relationship with Kayson’s mother, Kayla Flowers, since they were teenagers. She gave birth to Kayson on January 29 of this year after Evans urged her to get an abortion, the filing said.
In March, Kayla allowed Evans to take Kayson for a day so he could spend time with his son. When Evans returned the baby, she noticed Kayson had a fever and scratches on his face. She took him to the hospital and reported that he had been with Evans for the past 24 hours. The baby recovered and was healthy at his next checkup in early April, prosecutors said.
On April 19, Evans arrived unexpectedly at Kayla’s home asking to see Kayson, and she allowed him to take the baby for about a week, Pekara said. The following day, during a FaceTime call, she saw that Kayson looked well. Evans was staying at his mother’s apartment on Juneway Terrace at the time.
On the morning of April 27, a friend FaceTimed Evans for several hours and saw Kayson in a car seat on the floor, appearing alert and healthy. Prosecutors said that was the last confirmed time Kayson was seen alive.
The next day, Evans arranged to meet Kayla at 107th Street and Wentworth Avenue to return the baby. Surveillance video captured Evans leaving the Juneway Terrace home around 8:30 a.m. with a stroller, boarding a Red Line train at Howard, traveling to 95th Street, and transferring to a bus. While on the bus, he was seen opening the stroller and looking inside.
When Evans met Kayla, he handed her the stroller and told her to check on the baby because “he had been sleeping a long time,” and then quickly walked away, Pekara said. Kayla pushed the stroller home without immediately checking on Kayson, saying it was windy and she did not want to wake him.
When she got home and removed the cover, she found Kayson stiff and unresponsive with bruising on his face, blue lips, and dilated pupils, according to Pekara. Family members rushed the baby to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Medical staff estimated he had been dead for six to eight hours, according to the detention filing.
Pekara said the medical examiner found bleeding on the brain, hemorrhaging to the spinal cord and eyes, facial bruising, rib fractures, and internal bleeding consistent with blunt force trauma.
While Kayla was driving to the hospital, she called Evans to ask what had happened. He allegedly told her, “Don’t worry about it.” Evans also went to the hospital, where police initially detained him, but subsequently let him go while the investigation continued. They took him into custody again this week.
When detectives interviewed Evans after his latest arrest, he told them a “demon” hurt the baby, Pekara said. Evans told police that demons had possessed him before and that this one appeared because he was stressed about his relationship with Kayla.
He allegedly admitted to punching the baby, claiming the demon “didn’t know its own strength,” according to Pekara’s filing.
Prosecutors also described a violent incident just days after Kayson’s birth. On February 4, Evans allegedly went to Kayla’s home, angry that she would not let him take the newborn outside in the cold. When she refused, he punched her in the stomach, reopening her surgical stitches. She was treated at a hospital but declined to press charges at the time.
Judge James Murphy III detained Evans on Thursday.
