A Richmond Hill man was indicted by a Queens grand jury for the attempted murder of his 8-year-old stepson nearly a year ago.
Davien Reid Sr., 43, of 88th Avenue, was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on Friday on the indictment charging him with attempted murder in the second degree, assault, witness intimidation and other related crimes for the brutal beating of his stepson after the youngster was accused of eating brownies intended for the defendant.
Reid allegedly hit the child, picked him up, threw him to the ground, and then repeatedly stomped on him, causing fractures to his neck and back and multiple internal injuries. When the boy vomited, Reid is alleged to have made him lick the vomit off the floor.
The child’s mother, Dayanara Vargas, was charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child for a separate incident for allegedly striking her son on the head with a broom, which required staples to his scalp to close the wound. Vargas was indicted by a grand jury and arraigned Friday on charges of assault, obstructing governmental administration and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
According to the investigation and charges, Reid and Vargas have been together for several years. Reid entered the relationship with three children and Vargas had two children. The couple also have two children together.
On April 24, 2024, Vargas called 911 and told police that her 8-year-old son was injured fighting his stepbrother. Police responded to the home and found the child sitting on a bathroom floor with head trauma. His head was severely bruised and deformed, with one eye swollen shut and bruises covering his back and arms.
The child was taken to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries to his abdomen and serious injuries to his head and spine. He had compression fractures on his neck and upper back, a subdural hematoma, ligament injuries in his neck, rectal bleeding, a laceration to his pancreas, and intestinal and abdominal injuries. He remained hospitalized for three weeks and required feeding tubes during part of that time. The child had to wear a cervical collar for his neck injuries for approximately five months.
The boy later told investigators that Reid had beaten him. The youngster also disclosed that in November 2023, his mother struck him in the head with a broom, which caused a gash that required several medical staples to close. The mother took her son to an urgent care facility, where she lied to doctors about the cause of the injury. All the children were removed from the home and placed into care shortly after police responded to the 911 call and removed the boy to the hospital.
“As alleged, these defendants inflicted unspeakable cruelty,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “An 8-year-old child was beaten repeatedly, resulting in fractures, internal injuries, and vomiting. Afterward, the child was forced to lick the vomit off the floor. It was brutal.”
Reid was additionally charged with endangering the welfare of a child and obstructing governmental administration. Queens Supreme Court Justice Gia Morris remanded Reid into custody without bail and set bail for Vargas at $250,000 cash, $500,000 bond, and $500,000 partially secured bond. She ordered the defendants to return to court on April 11. If convicted, Reid faces up to 25 years in prison and Vargas faces up to seven years.
“Thankfully, the victim and his siblings are all now safe,” Katz said. “And we will get justice for this child.”
