Douglas County Dist. Atty. Charles Branson today identified the 3-year-old girl who he said was killed by rough treatment from her mother’s boyfriend, calling it a “heinous crime.”

The girl was identified as Sydni C. Perkins, the daughter of Rachel Perkins, 21.

Earlier story

On Tuesday night, Lawrence police arrested Jason W. Dillon, 22, on suspicion of first-degree murder and abuse of a child.

“There’s not a more heinous crime than this. This was a defenseless 3-year-old,” Branson said.

Branson said investigators found there were at least three instances during the day Saturday where the suspect, Dillon, physically harmed the girl:

¢ Once when she was knocked down.

¢ Once when she was shaken.

¢ Once when he bludgeoned her with his hand.

Branson said Dillon had been watching Sydni in the 1100 block of George Court while her mother was at work.

When the mother came home, about 5 p.m. Saturday, the girl was alive but unresponsive, Branson said.

The district attorney said it was believed that Sydni may have been unresponsive for up to two hours before she was taken to the hospital.

The girl was first taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital, then to a Kansas City area hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

On Tuesday, the autopsy determined that the cause of death was a traumatic head injury.

When they went to the hospital, the girl had bruises on her sternum and around her head, Branson said. Dillon had told hospital employees that she had fallen in the bath, the district attorney said.