NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The father of a 3-year-old boy found with bruises all over his body at a Queens shelter has been charged with murder after the toddler's death was ruled a homicide, police said Wednesday.
Shaquan Butler, 26, was arrested and charged with murder and manslaughter, police said.
Officers responding to a 911 call from the shelter at 79-00 Queens Blvd. in Elmhurst around 7:40 p.m. Sunday found the boy unconscious and unresponsive.
The child, also named Shaquan Butler, was rushed to NYC Health + Hospital/Elmhurst, but he did not survive.
He had visible bruising throughout his body when he died, police said earlier Wednesday, and the case is being investigated as a homicide.
Investigators believe he was the victim of ongoing beatings, as the bruises were in different stages of healing, sources told the Daily News.
A police source told the outlet that the boy's 21-year-old mother told cops he choked on a chicken nugget when he ran into a pole and hit his head on the floor Sunday night, contradicting the findings of the city's Medical Examiner.
Detectives questioned his parents ahead of Wednesday's arrest, police said.
It wasn't immediately clear if his mother would face charges.
The family was living in a shelter that’s located at the former site of the Pan Am Hotel.
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