Last week, 32-year-old Eric Richard Boudreau was arrested in Washington state in connection with the death of a 13-month-old infant boy he was babysitting late last year.
Court records show he was charged with one count of second-degree murder. The Lacey Police Department (LPD) stated that the arrest was made following a long and thorough investigation. The LPD also shared a photo of Boudreau being detained with his hands cuffed.
According to an affidavit, LPD officers and firefighters responded to a 911 call in the 9000 block of Campus Glen Drive Northeast at a residence on November 11, 2022. Medics were finally able to get a heartbeat from the victim after performing 16 rounds of CPR and he was then airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he was pronounced dead. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the toddler’s death was a result of blunt force trauma to the head.
Police were informed by several paramedics who treated the toddler that the injuries were not consistent with a fall down the stairs, according to The Olympian. There was not a single square inch of the baby’s body that was not bruised, according to a medic. As a second medic reported to investigators, the child’s injuries were the worst he had ever seen in 17 years of service.
The victim’s mother told police she had left the child under Boudreau’s care while she was at work, as his daycare was closed. The victim’s father stated he heard Boudreau tell the crying toddler to “shut up” earlier that day. In an interview with investigators, Boudreau said he had drank several beers and smoked marijuana the night before, but he believed he was still able to watch the toddler. He also said he had fallen asleep with the child and when he woke up, he found him injured at the bottom of the stairs.
At a hearing on Friday, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Cailen Cecil argued that Boudreau should be held without bond due to the “extreme and numerous” injuries sustained by the victim, to which Judge John Skinder agreed, expressing concern for the safety of the community.