Winnsboro father charged with child's death

18-year-old Jarrid Dewese is facing life in prison, charged with the February 16 death of his nine-month-old daughter, Javon.

On February 19, the Winnsboro man was charged with homicide by child abuse after autopsy reports revealed trauma wounds to the baby's head.

Dewese told Carolina News he doesn't know anything about the injuries, but says Javon bumped her head on a table earlier in the day.

Javon's mother, Tynesce Smith, was not home when the baby died and says she can't believe her daughter is no longer alive.  "She didn't really get a chance to talk or walk...she was just a special, loving child," explains Smith.

Fairfield County Chief Deputy Keith Lewis says Dewese is not being completely truthful.  "We interviewed him, gave him a polygraph test...he didn't do too well on the test," says Lewis.

This is not Fairfield County's first homicide by child abuse case.  In December 2002, another man was charged with the death of his three-month-old nephew.  The Department of Health and Environmental Control says four South Carolina infants
were killed that same year. 

The National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information reports an estimated 1,300 child fatalities in 2001.  Of that amount, 41 percent of the fatalities were children younger than one year old.          

Javon Dewese's funeral is scheduled for February 20 at the Church of God in Winnsboro at 3:30pm.
 
            

Reported by:

Alaina Anderson

Born in Washington, DC and reared in Dorchester, SC, Alaina Anderson is ready to jump into the real world of broadcast journalism.  When not reporting for Carolina News, she's a videotape editor at WIS-TV.  Alaina won Best News Story for the Electronic News Association of the Carolinas and looks forward to winning more awards in the future.  She hopes to one day anchor in a major market area.