Davon Booth Jr. was 13 months old when he was pronounced dead on Monday, Aug. 8, 2011, after being taken from his home in the 5600 block of Woodmont Avenue in Baltimore. An autopsy later found that he had died of head trauma, and his death was added to the city's homicide count on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011. The Baltimore Sun's homicide database lists the cause as blunt force injuries.
The Baltimore Police Department investigated, and the Sun's database lists his death as a homicide.
According to the Baltimore Sun, Davon was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital on Aug. 8 "after his father reported that he had found the boy unresponsive with vomit on his face, police said." The father told police he had fed the baby and placed him in a bassinet, then walked into another room to cook dinner. When he saw that the boy was not breathing, he called 911 and attempted CPR. Davon was pronounced dead at 5:50 p.m. that day.
Police were told that since his birth, Davon had had "bouts with vomiting after eating," and had been found unresponsive before, prompting earlier 911 calls, according to Detective Donny Moses, a police spokesman quoted by the Sun. The medical examiner, however, ruled that the toddler had suffered head trauma and that his death was a homicide. On Sept. 7, 2011, the Sun noted that the case "remained open, as of the most recent update from police."
In late November 2011, the Sun's weekly homicide roundup reported that Davon's case "has been closed by exception." The roundup said his death "was ruled a homicide by the Medical Examiner, but, according to police, the State's Attorney's Office has declined to bring charges against the parents." A case closed by exception is one that police consider cleared for reasons other than an arrest. No one was charged, and no public account explains how the head injury happened or who was responsible for it.
Davon's death came during a stretch in which Baltimore homicide detectives were investigating the deaths of several very young children within a few weeks of one another. The Sun reported in early September 2011 that detectives had looked into the deaths of two other young children in the preceding month, and one of those cases had led to a charge. Davon's case did not.
Woodmont Avenue is a residential street of homes in Baltimore. The public record about Davon's case says little about the household or the block beyond the address where the 911 call was made.
Baltimore recorded roughly 200 to 280 homicides a year between 2007 and 2014, one of the highest rates of any large American city, and many of those killings were never solved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Davon Booth Jr. could be found in news archives or public records. More than 15 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Relatives, neighbors on the 5600 block of Woodmont Avenue, medical workers or anyone else who saw Davon in the weeks before August 2011 may know something about how he was hurt. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen nearby or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can call Baltimore Police homicide detectives at 410-396-2100, or leave an anonymous tip with Metro Crime Stoppers of Maryland at 1-866-7LOCKUP (1-866-756-2587).
