Arrest report says man tied up, hit Las Vegas boy who died Sunday

A man accused of tying up and fatally abusing a 7-year-old boy made his first court appearance Wednesday morning.

The Clark County coroner’s office identified the boy on Wednesday as Richard Findley Jr., known to his family as Ramasje. A cause of death has not been determined.

First responders found Richard unresponsive, and with visible bruises and ligature marks, on Sunday at the Siegel Suites near Boulder Highway and Flamingo Road. He died about 30 minutes after arriving at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, Las Vegas police have said.

Kenneth Robinson Jr., 31, was arrested Sunday after he learned of the boy’s death and confessed to detectives, according to an arrest report. A preliminary hearing for Robinson is scheduled for Dec. 7 in Las Vegas Justice Court.

Robinson is being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center on a murder charge.

The suspect admitted slapping the back of Richard’s head three times and “plucking” him seven times, according to the arrest report.

“He describing plucking as him flicking Findley’s head with his finger,” the report said. “Robinson also ‘popped’ Findley in his stomach one time. He demonstrated this on his own body and described it as hitting him in the stomach with the palm of his hand.”

According to the arrest report, Robinson tied the child’s arms behind his back about 7 a.m. and left him like that until the afternoon. Robinson told police he saw the boy throw up twice and could tell something was wrong with the child just by looking at him.

Robinson initially denied hitting the child, telling police the boy had a habit of hitting himself. But when he heard about Richard’s death, he confessed because he did not want the child’s mother, Roshoun Malone, to lose custody of her other children, the arrest report said.

Malone told police that the boy was already tied up when she woke up. She said she had not seen Robinson hit the boy that day, according to the report, but she had in the past.

Police documented a large bruise on the boy’s stomach, a hand print on his butt and hips, and marks on his arms and ankles from being tied up.

“Robinson said Findley was disrespectful and disobedient,” according to the arrest report. “Robinson was emotional and crying at the end of the interview.”

It was not immediately clear whether the family has a history of interventions by Child Protective Services. A child death disclosure had not been filed as of Wednesday, and a Clark County spokesman did not respond to requests for that information.

Deputy Public Defender Norman Reed, who is representing Robinson, declined to comment on the case after Wednesday’s court hearing.

Richard was a Cunningham Elementary School student. The school’s principal, Joyce Brooks, penned a letter to parents encouraging them to monitor their children for signs of grief.

“It is never easy to lose a valuable life, especially at such a young age,” the letter read. “He will always be remembered as a part of our school family.”

Brooks said grief counseling would be made available to the students as needed.

Richard Findley, the boy’s father, raised about $200 for his son’s funeral expenses as of Wednesday afternoon using a crowdfunding website.

Review-Journal writer Rachel Hershkovitz contributed to this report. Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0391. Follow @WesJuhl on Twitter.