
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – A man accused of killing a 2-year-old Topeka boy more than 11 years ago is free after a jury acquitted him in the case.
The Shawnee County District Court jury on Thursday found 33-year-old Johnathan Davion Mango not guilty of second-degree murder in March 2006 death of Eli Clemens.
An affidavit said the boy died at a Topeka apartment from blunt force trauma to the head and abdomen.
Mango was the former fiancĂ© of Fawn Clemens Mack, the child’s mother. He testified during the trial that he was not responsible for the child’s death.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports witnesses said the youngster had fallen off a slide in a park the day before he died, perhaps injuring his head.
Mango was arrested last year in Florissant, Missouri.