Man Charged With Capital Murder in Kidnapping, Killing of 4-Year-Old Dallas Boy

Cash Gernon and Darriynn Brown mugshot. ( Dallas County Police; Dallas County Jail)

An 18-year-old Texas man was charged with capital murder in the kidnapping and slaying of a 4-year-old boy last month.

Darriynn Brown faces the new charge after lab results linked him to Cash Gernon, the child, at the time of the boy’s death, according to the Dallas Police Department on Wednesday. The department didn’t provide any more details.

“Evidence submitted to the lab has been returned linking Darriynn Brown to Cash Gernon at the time of his death. Therefore he is also being charged with Capital Murder,” said Dallas police.

Previously, Brown was charged with kidnapping and theft charges in connection to the case. Surveillance footage showed him taking Cash from his crib and walking away from the camera’s view.

A passerby found the child’s body in a street in Dallas on May 15.

Later, the Dallas Medical Examiner’s office determined that the boy’s death was a homicide.

Brown’s mother told local media outlets that her son has mental health problems but claimed he was not capable of violence.

“I think that 4-year-old boy was killed at them people’s home and I believe someone had transportation, like a car or truck, and transported his body to the body site,” the woman, who wasn’t named, said in a previous report.

Brown’s neighbors painted a different picture of the suspect, saying he was known for causing trouble in the neighborhood.

“This guy here, he’s on NextDoor where he’s busted into cars, busted ring doorbells, seen carrying a hammer, he threatened one other people’s life,” said neighbor Joe Bubel. “People are asking, why didn’t the police pursue that? That’s just his side of the story. I don’t know the other side of the story.”

Meanwhile, police have said that Brown allegedly attempted to abduct another toddler—a 2-year-old girl—from another home in February, reported Fox23.

As reported by CBS Dallas, Brown is still being housed in the Dallas County Jail.