She Left Her Toddler With Her Boyfriend To Go To Work: Blood On His Hands

She Left Her Toddler With Her Boyfriend To Go To Work. Days Later, He Was Dead.

Around 7 p.m., emergency crews responded to an apartment on Hatton Drive in Scottdale, Georgia after reports of an unresponsive toddler. The child was transported to Emory Decatur Hospital in cardiac arrest and respiratory failure.

According to investigators, the 19-month-old boy’s mother left him in the care of her boyfriend, 28-year-old Kentavious Hardnett, earlier that afternoon while she went to work.

Authorities said the mother later spoke to the toddler during a video call around 5 p.m. and told investigators the child appeared normal and showed no visible injuries at that time.

Investigators said Hardnett later carried the unresponsive child to a neighboring apartment, where a resident called 911 before driving Hardnett and the toddler to the hospital when help did not immediately arrive.

According to prosecutors, medical staff observed bruising on the child’s forehead and ears. The toddler was later transferred to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where doctors discovered bilateral subdural hemorrhages and retinal hemorrhages in both eyes.

Authorities said the child never regained consciousness and was declared brain dead on January 24, 2021 after being removed from life support.

According to investigators, Hardnett claimed the toddler became unresponsive after falling from a bed while taking a nap. However, medical experts testified the injuries were not consistent with that explanation.

Prosecutors said a child abuse pediatrician diagnosed the child with abusive head trauma, while the autopsy later revealed multiple scalp contusions consistent with blows to the head.

On May 21, 2026, a DeKalb County jury found Hardnett guilty of felony murder and first-degree cruelty to children.

A sentencing hearing is expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks.