TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The community says goodbye to a Tallahassee toddler, who police say was murdered by his mother's boyfriend.
Jeffrey Phillips III nicknamed "Baby J" was laid to rest today at Southside Cemetery.
The ten month old was pronounced dead on May 6th of a broken spinal cord.
Officials at the medical examiners office says this could've only happened if Baby J was forcibly slammed.
Meanwhile his mother's boyfriend Dajuan Barnes has been charged in Baby J's murder.
Police say Barnes was watching him while his mother Tateyana Smith went to the store to get medicine for Baby J. At one point Barnes says the baby started throwing up and eventually stopped breathing. He was pronounced dead at the hospital just hours later.
Barnes has pleaded not guilty.
The department of children and families has also opened an additional investigation to see if something could have been done to prevent Baby J's death.
