Ten babies and children, including two fetuses, were slain in the Tristate in 2001 — and all but one were killed by relatives or a parent's boyfriend.

        The exception was Mary Hall, 13, of Northside, found beaten to death in an abandoned building at Chase and Dana avenues Jan. 27. A 16-year-old acquaintance is charged in her death.

        “It's a very, very disturbing trend, and it affects you even more so when you have children,” Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen said. “Of all the tragedies, I can think of nothing as uncommonly sad as the death of a child. And when that death is accompanied by violence, especially by their own family members, it's an event of cataclysmic shock and sorrow for us all.”

        Child homicides in Hamilton County — eight — fell this year by two; 10 children were killed in 2000, according to the Hamilton County Child Fatality Team.

        In the first child homicide this year, Dwayne Henry, 16, was arrested after police say he confessed to killing Mary by hitting her with a board, slashing her throat and gouging her eyes out. Then he pushed her through a hole in the floor of the building to the basement several stories below.

        Mr. Henry is being held at a Summit Behavioral Healthcare in Carthage until he is restored to stand trial as an adult for aggravated murder and kidnapping charges. The criminal charges are on hold until his medical condition improves, and he is on a suicide watch at Summit.

        The killings of two fetuses this fall led to criminal charges:

        • John Broe, 25, faces two counts of aggravated murder in connection with beating his wife, Shannon, 24, to death Sept. 7 with a baseball bat. When she died, their unborn child, a 5-month-old fetus, also died, police said. Mr. Broe buried his wife in a shallow grave along Interstate 71 and told relatives and police she disappeared before confessing and taking authorities to her body.

        Ms. Broe's family has named her unborn child Alexandra Jordan and established a scholarship fund to honor Shannon's love of volleyball.

        • Franklin police charged Danny Scearce, 24, the father of a 27-week unborn male, with involuntary manslaughter. He is accused of assaulting his girlfriend, Sarah Smith, 21, causing her to deliver the stillborn baby.

        In another horrific case, Takeya Bryant, 8, of Northside, was beaten to death Aug. 15 at her mother's apartment while her mother was working. The second-grader's brother, 11, and cousin, 13, who was babysitting her, were accused of her murder, and her brother has been found guilty. He is being held at Hillcrest Training School.

        The cousin was found incompetent to stand trial earlier this year but is expected to appear in juvenile court again in January.

        The other children whose deaths have been ruled homicides:

        • Nykael Presswood, 23 months, Over-the-Rhine

        • Darnisha Kinney, 17 months old, the West End

        • Cariyan Stoval, 4, Evanston

        • Iyan Stoval, 20 months, Evanston

        • Darian Younger, 3, Avondale

        • Christopher David Long, 2, Middletown

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