Picture provided by WFAA
Dallas police have arrested Clezel Montague Mughni, 27 for allegedly of punching a 1-year -old Marquis Johnson to death. He has been formerly charged with injury to a child. His bail was set at $500.000
Tuesday morning the child’s mother and Mughni discovered Marquis was unresponsive. The little boy was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead according to police reports.
The mother told police that Marquis had been ill for a number of days leading up to Tuesday. She stated in an arrest warrant affidavit that the little boy had not been eating and was stricken by diarrhea.
Later the Dallas County medical examiner determined that the toddler died from injuries consistent with blunt force trauma. According to police documents, a girl told police that she witnessed Mughni punch Marquis in the stomach in the restroom because Marquis wasn’t listening.
Mughni allegedly also injured a little 2-year-old girl. The little girl underwent surgery at Children’s Medical Center Dallas according to police. In a statement to the media, Police Maj. Rob Sherwin stated that the child’s injuries are consistent with blunt force trauma.
Other witnesses reported that they had seen Mughni spank other children before this incident. Mughni was previously arrested for burglary. He does not have a documented history with Child Protective Services.
The three other children living in the home were removed and placed in protective custody. It is unclear what Mughni’s relationship to the children is at this time. It is believed that Mughni is neither the father of Marquis Johnson nor any of the other children living in the home. In addition, to Marquis’ mother, two other adult women live in the home.
