NORTH LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Broward County judge denied bond for a 28-year-old man accused of beating his girlfriend's 3-year-old son to death in February.
Corey Gordon is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Khyese Coach.
His mother broke down in the courtroom, pleading with the judge to let her son go and saying she would switch places with him.
Khyese's grandmother walked out of the courtroom after the decision with tears in her eyes. She said she was happy Gordon will stay behind bars.
"He deserved what he got," Glenda Haye said. "Khyese with never come back...He will rot in jail."
Moments later, Gordon's mother emerged from the courtroom where she continued screaming hysterically, dropping to her knees in prayer.
"The blood of Jesus, the blood of Jesus. My son is innocent," Gordon's mother continued to repeat. After about a half hour of praying and crying she left the courthouse.
During Tuesday's hearing, Gordon's attorney compared his client's case to that of Analiz Osceola, who is also accused of beating her stepson, Ahyziya Osceola, 3, to death.
He said Osceola was only charged with aggravated manslaughter and said his client was overcharged in the death of Khyese.
The judge did not agree.
According to Broward Sheriff's Office deputies, the toddler's mother, Chantel Haye left Khyese in the care of Gordon while she was at work for her first day at a telemarketing company in Boca Raton in February. When Gordon picked up Haye from work she noticed something was wrong with Khyese, who was cold to the touch, and demanded that Gordon take her to the hospital.
Prosecutors said Gordon struck Khyese in the abdomen with so much force that it ruptured his bowels.
The state believe Gordon inflicted the fatal blows after the boy had a bowel movement that leaked out of his diaper onto Gordon's sister's new white couch. The defense claimed Khyese was injured before he was in Gordon's care.
Khyese's grandmother said she had seen signs of abuse, claiming the toddler had come to her house with a black eye last October. She said Khyese was afraid of Gordon, but said her daughter didn't believe the abuse was happening.
An autopsy determined that Khyese died as a result of blunt force trauma.
According to the Florida Department of Children and Families, there were two prior reports of abuse involving Khyese. The first report was made in 2009 and "involved the paramour," while the most recent investigation was closed in December 2014.
DCF records state that Khyese "was always crying and had marks that resembled belt marks on his body. There were also concerns of domestic violence in the home." The investigation was closed with "no indicators" for physical injury.
Gordon has been held in jail since his Feb. 10 arrest.
Follow Local 10 News on Twitter@WPLGLocal10