BATON ROUGE - A man was arrested for the murder of a toddler Thursday, more than three years after the then-2-year-old was seriously injured while in his care. 

According to court documents, 40-year-old Howard Youngblood was arrested in 2022 for second-degree cruelty to a juvenile after police were called to Elm Drive for an unresponsive child. 

Paperwork says the toddler Youngblood was babysitting suffered multiple bleeds inside his head, causing brain damage.

Youngblood told officers that the child, identified as Tyshawn Brumfield, fell off his steps, but doctors said the severe injuries could not have been caused by one fall.

Officers spoke to Brumfield's mother, who said she would drop the child off at Youngblood's before going to work. 

Youngblood pleaded guilty to the charge in 2025 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and five years were suspended. He was released from prison in May 2026 and placed on probation. 

The Baton Rouge Police Department said Thursday that Brumfield died in hospice on June 8, 2026. The child's brain damage was so severe that he was blind and unable to feed himself or walk.

Youngblood was booked for first-degree murder in the case.