Eagan Man Pleads Guilty In Death of 3-Year-Old Boy

HASTINGS (AP) -- The boyfriend of a foster mother has pleaded guilty in Dakota County to killing a 3-year-old boy who was in her care.

Twenty-eight-year-old Charles Homich entered the plea to second-degree murder Tuesday in the death of Zayden Lawson in June 2017. Zayden's foster mother is also charged in the death.

Prosecutors say she knew Homich, who was living in the foster home, had been punching Zayden for weeks before his death and that he was ``really scared'' of him.

Paramedics were called to the woman's Eagan townhome after the boy stopped breathing. He was taken to Children's Hospital in Minneapolis where he was pronounced dead. Officials say the boy died of multiple blunt force injuries.

Sentencing is scheduled Aug. 13.