Newark Mom’s Boyfriend Charged With Murder After Boy Dies: UPDATE

NEWARK, NJ — Editor's Note: This article was updated with a Jan. 23 statement from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

Authorities have charged a New Jersey man with murder and endangering the welfare of a child after a 7-year-old student at University Charter School in Newark was found dead on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, authorities said.

Newark police officers first arrived at a home on the 100-block of Weequahic Avenue around 8 a.m. on Jan. 21 after receiving reports about a sick or injured child, according to a joint statement from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Newark Department of Public Safety.

On arrival, the officers found an “unresponsive” child, later identified as Aydin Brown, a second-grade student at University Charter School. Emergency responders rushed Brown to Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, where he was pronounced dead at 9:05 a.m., authorities said.

On Monday evening, detectives with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office arrested the boyfriend of the boy’s mother, Mark Harper, 36, of Union, who was caring for Brown at the time, authorities said.

Harper was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. He was transported to the Essex County Correctional Facility, where he awaits a detention hearing in New Jersey Superior Court, prosecutors said.

On Wednesday, authorities announced that Brown's death has been ruled a homicide, and that the cause of death was "blunt force injury." Harper was additionally charged with murder.

Brown’s death is being investigated by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force, which includes detectives from the Newark Police Department. An investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information can contact the Essex County Prosecutor's Tips Line at (877) 847-7432.

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