Peter Hendy was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday for the death of his girlfriend’s son, four-year-old Kamari Zavon Taylor.
Hendy, 33, was babysitting Taylor in an apartment in Northeast DC on Aug. 5 of last year, when, according to court records, he punched the boy repeatedly in his stomach, fracturing the child’s ribs and lacerating his liver.
Before leaving that morning, the boy had asked his mother if he could go outside and ride his scooter. The mother left for work and throughout the day received various calls from Hendy, saying the boy had acted up and that Hendy had disciplined him.
According to Hendy’s admissions in court, the boy disobeyed him by riding too far on his scooter and by talking back, telling him: “I don’t have to listen to you you’re not my daddy.”
Hendy admitted to punching the boy four or five times, which he later described to police as, “a body shot, but not hard.” Hendy remembers the boy’s legs shaking and sweating profusely before placing the boy in bed.
After an hour of selling Marijuana outside of the residence, Hendy went back inside and realized the boy was not breathing and had a “blank look,” so he called 911, according to Hendy.
Emergency respondents found the boy unconscious and unresponsive. He was taken to Children’s National Medical Center and pronounced dead.
