TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa woman was arrested after she allegedly beat her young son to death, according to the Tampa Police Department.
Arayiah Hudson, 36, called first responders at 4:37 p.m. on Saturday to her home on North 15th Street and said her 4-year-old son, Joseph, was unresponsive. She told deputies he was coughing and having a hard time breathing after eating chips and drinking water. Officers tried to perform CPR but Joseph was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Detectives found evidence of potential abuse, and a medical examination of Joseph's body found numerous injuries such as bruises and internal bleeding, according to police. The autopsy revealed the cause of death to be trauma to the head and torso.
Police said Hudson tried to conceal the abuse by claiming to discipline her son and using tinted makeup to cover bruises around his eyes.
"This is a heinous crime. Every child deserves to feel safe in their own home and especially with their own mother,” said Police Chief Lee Bercaw.
She was arrested just before 7:30 p.m. on Monday at her home and charged with murder in the first degree while engaged in aggravated child abuse. Joseph's siblings were taken to their biological father's house while Hudson was booked into the Orient Road Jail.