N.Y. Giants' Parker And His Girlfriend Charged In Her Child's Death

New York Giants defensive end Jeremiah Parker and his live-in girlfriend, Tauleah Kelly, have been charged with aggravated manslaughter in connection with the death of Kelly's 4-year-old son, Elijah Kelly.

Passaic County, NJ, authorities first said the boy was injured when his mother shook him.

However, the decision to charge the couple with manslaughter, upgraded from initial child endangerment charges, came after an autopsy was performed by the State Medical Examiner's Office. The autopsy showed that Elijah died from multiple "blunt force injuries" about the head that occurred over a period of time.

"There were facts uncovered indicating both shared in the abuse," said William Purdy, chief assistant prosecutor. "It was extreme and unusual disciplinary measures: bite marks, belt marks and hitting."

Authorities said Parker, 23, took the child to St. Joseph's Wayne Hospital after he found the boy unconscious on the floor of a bedroom in his Haledon, NJ, condominium. The boy was later transferred to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died two days later.

Purdy also said the boy was hospitalized last month for severe bleeding within the skull. The state Division of Youth and Family Services approved the return of the boy to his mother after a physician decided the injury was caused by a fall down a flight of stairs.

Parker and Kelly, 19, could face sentences of 10 to 30 years in prison if convicted.

The couple lived in Richmond, CA, before they moved to Haledon a few months ago, authorities said. Parker, who played at the University of California at Berkeley, was drafted by the Giants in 2000.