2-year-old dies after dad beat him during potty training, Texas police say

A toddler is dead after his dad allegedly beat him during potty training on Saturday, Texas police say.

Antonio Hicks, 21, took his unresponsive 2-year-old son, Antonio Hicks Jr., to a Houston hospital, according to documents from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Emergency room workers noticed the toddler had multiple injuries — some recent and some healing — that didn’t line up with how Hicks said his son had been injured, police said.

When investigators talked to Hicks and the toddler’s mother, both said Hicks had “lost his temper” with the child while they were potty training him and repeatedly hit the child until he was unresponsive, according to police.

The toddler was pronounced dead at the hospital at 6:18 p.m., KHOU reported.

Hicks was arrested and charged with serious bodily injury to a child, police said. He’s being held on $250,000 bond, according to court records.

Hicks’ charges are expected to be upgraded pending the results of an autopsy, according to the sheriff’s office.

This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 7:39 AM with the headline "2-year-old dies after dad beat him during potty training, Texas police say."