Beaufort Co. man accused of killing 8-month-old arrested outside Atlanta, police say
On Wednesday, police outside Atlanta arrested a Lady’s Island man accused of killing his girlfriend’s 8-month-old son last year.
Beaufort Police say 27-year-old Frederick Luma will be charged with homicide by child abuse. Luma called 911 on June 19, 2019, to report the child was not breathing, police say.
The baby was taken in an ambulance from the Sea Point Apartments to Beaufort Memorial Hospital in the early morning hours before being transferred to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, where the infant died, according to a previous Beaufort Police Department news release.
Luma later admitted to shaking the infant in an interview with investigators, according to the department. The infant was diagnosed with a severe brain bleed, The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette reported previously.
Police say Luma left Beaufort County before arrest warrants for the baby’s death were issued. Authorities in Clayton County, Georgia, just south of Atlanta, located him.
He is currently being held at the Clayton County Jail awaiting extradition back to Beaufort, according to police and jail records. No charges had been filed in Beaufort County courts as of Thursday morning, according to online records.
Homicide by child abuse is a felony in South Carolina. A conviction can result in 20 years to life imprisonment.
Beaufort Police are asking those with information on the case to contact Investigator Joshua Dowling at 843-322-7950 or call the department’s anonymous tip line at 843-322-7938.
