Two-year-old Darius Berry died after being brought to a hospital on the evening of October 15, 1998. He had been picked up from daycare that afternoon by his mother’s live-in boyfriend, Charles Berry; the daycare provider recalled Darius crying and reluctant to leave with Berry. A neighbor saw Berry and the two boys enter their duplex at about 6:15 p.m. and, shortly after, Darius became unresponsive while Berry was reportedly changing his diaper.

At 6:28 p.m. Darius was admitted to the hospital with no signs of life and later pronounced dead. External examination showed a small mark on his forehead and slight bruising around his neck. The autopsy found a fractured spine and a completely severed artery between the chest and abdomen near the diaphragm, plus internal bruising in the connective tissue near the spinal fracture with no matching external injuries on the back.

Charles Berry was indicted on second-degree murder; a jury acquitted him of murder but convicted him of the lesser-included offense of manslaughter. He was sentenced to ten years in prison followed by six months of probation.