Toddler suffers violent death

A photographer was there that day, snapping shots of the children for Mother's Day presents. In his picture, Ronnie has a tender smile and tired eyes. He played in the sand pile, staffers reported, and used the sand sifters.

Mica Nichols, who spruced up Ronnie before his photograph that day, said he lay down on a blue mat after lunch and fell fast asleep. There were dark circles under his eyes, she said. Jan Davies had to wake him up to take him home.

"He was a sweet boy," Nichols said. "A real sweet-natured, kind little boy."

Ronnie didn't feel well on Saturday, either. Tom took care of him all day. He hung out around the house, asked for ice for his head, and crawled up on the couch and slept most of the day.

Sunday morning, though, on May 5, he woke up feeling "as good as gold," according to DeMille. "You know, I was really happy with him Sunday because he was feeling so good."

Story continues below Ronnie Davies' autopsy report noted a fractured skull as well as multiple bruises. Requires Adobe Acrobat.

Jan Davies was at work, but by DeMille's account, the man and the boy worked outside burning weeds and cutting the lawn until they stopped for a lunch of fish sticks.

At 1 p.m., Ronnie called his mom. "I'm helping Daddy in the yard. I'm playing with my trucks," Ronnie told her. "Be good," his mother told him.

After lunch, the two lay down to rest for a while, then Ronnie got up to go to the bathroom.

Ronnie called to Tom to help him in the bathroom. Tom says Ronnie was standing next to the toilet when he cried out, then collapsed.

"At that point I didn't really know what to do, so I put some cold water on him," DeMille said. When Ronnie didn't respond, DeMille called the boy's mother, who drove home, then drove the boy to the emergency room.

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