A young boy was found dead in a Panorama City dumpster. His mother’s ex is accused of killing him
2 days ago
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A 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in the death of a 5-year-old boy whose severely injured body was found in a Panorama City dumpster on Saturday, according to booking records and a law enforcement source.
Brycson Gaddis was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department on Wednesday morning in connection with the boy’s killing, according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department’s jail log and a law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.
Gaddis was described as the ex-boyfriend of the child’s mother and is not his father, according to Troy Hearn Sr., the boy’s grandfather.
The child suffered “massive injuries” including a fractured jaw, fractured ribs and a lacerated liver, the law enforcement official said. An LAPD spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Authorities have not disclosed a specific cause of death in the case, and the boy’s name was not released.
Hearn also accused Gaddis of kidnapping the boy and his mother, Kemia Hearn, 24, near a store and forcing them into an apartment complex close to where the body was found. Troy Hearn said his daughter was also detained for questioning but released Wednesday.
Hearn and Gaddis had dated on and off for a few years, and Gaddis was allegedly stalking her, according to Troy Hearn.
“It’s very heartbreaking for him to do that to my 5-year-old grandson,” he said. “I’m identifying the body this afternoon. I’m overwhelmed and so angry that I can’t even explain it. This guy is a bad guy and it’s lucky that the police has him.”
The boy’s body was found after police responded to the 8200 block of Van Nuys Boulevard around 7 a.m. Saturday, authorities said.
Gaddis had been arrested multiple times in the past year. In July 2024, he was one of three defendants charged with carjacking and assault stemming from an incident in Baldwin Park. But charges against all three were dropped in December, according to court records.
Two law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the case said Gaddis was in jail at the time, but was released from custody when prosecutors announced they were not ready to proceed at a preliminary hearing.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Los Angeles police arrested Gaddis again in February on domestic violence charges, according to jail and court records. Gaddis pleaded not guilty to the allegations and a jury trial was set for April, but court records do not indicate the case was ever fully adjudicated. An email to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Officers followed a tip to an apartment complex on Lanark Street, less than a mile from where the body was found, police said. Officials executed a search warrant at around 9:30 p.m. at one of the apartments and detained a man and a woman. Two children were in the apartment as well. In total, five people were detained for question Monday.
Women pray together during a vigil for the child in Panorama City.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)
The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services took custody of the two children.
Local residents held a vigil for the boy the same night that the adults were detained, KTLA news reported. Vigil attendees filmed the adults being led away in handcuffs, and someone was heard screaming “justice.”
A growing collection of toys, flowers and notes have been left in the parking lot where the boy was found.
A rainbow-colored Snoopy rested near a star-shaped yellow helium balloon in the pile on Monday. “Fly with the angels little guy,” one message said.
Eduardo Martinez, 28, a Panorama City resident, wept and shook his head. Nearby, a half-dozen people held hands and prayed.
“Whatever happened here is despicable,” said Martinez, who attends nursing school next door. “I hope they catch whoever did this.”
This pocket of Panorama City is largely commercial, with dentist offices, nursing schools, and restaurants lining the streets. A nearby apartment tower looms over the parking lot.
“They still haven’t found who did it, no?” Brandon Moreno, a teenager who lives nearby, asked a friend as they peered through a chain-link fence at the memorial.
The neighborhood, which is heavily Latino, is also on edge because of the recent immigration raids throughout the region, residents said.
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