Substitute Babysitter Murders Infant After Gripping Him Like A Football, Arrested

A Texas man was arrested and charged with murder after an infant whom he is accused of gripping in a "football hold" died Friday, April 16.

The accused, Marvin Rex Lake allegedly gripped, 1-year-old Ahren DeHart, like a football and dropped him on the frame of a futon, causing fatal injuries, a police affidavit stated.

The 24-year-old was arrested Monday for murdering the infant who the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office declared died of intentional trauma/homicide.

Lake, a friend of the infant’s family, was a last-minute resort for babysitting the victim and two other children on April 12 while their mothers went to work, the document states.

He made two video calls on that day with a listed witness in the case. In the first call, the infant seemed to be in good health, the affidavit states.

In the second video call., Lake told the witness that the infant was vomiting a red substance and which he wasn’t sure was blood. He had also "rag-dolled," the affidavit states.

The witness and the infant’s mother rushed to the residence and found the infant unresponsive. The baby was immediately transported to the El Paso Children’s Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Following an examination, doctor’s revealed that the child had suffered several acute injuries, including brain damage. The injuries also included lung hemorrhaging, skull fractures, suspected abdominal injuries, and bruises on the baby’s chin and lower body.

The other two children were also found with injuries, El Paso police said. Their current condition is unknown.

Lake surrendered himself at the police headquarters in Central El Paso and initially denied the abuse. He then told police that he performed several wrestling moves with the baby and, at one point, the infant slipped from his hand and struck the frame of a futon in the room.

He also told police he grabbed the infant like a football after he became upset and couldn't control his anger as the infant was acting fussy.

Lake was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility on a capital murder charge. He remains incarcerated.

He is a former military member who was discharged from service more than a year ago.

According to a GoFundMe page set up by the victim’s family, Ahren’s father is a soldier stationed at Fort Bliss and his mother is a healthcare worker at a local hospital.