By ROBIN SHANNON

Staff Reporter

EDGARD – A state grand jury indicted the mother, stepfather, and stepbrother of an 8-year-old Reserve boy in state district court Tuesday in connection with the alleged murder of the child on April 1.

St. John Parish Assistant District Attorney Charles Lorio said four indictments total were handed down at Tuesday’s hearing for Errol Victor Sr., Tonya Victor, and Errol Victor Jr. The three Reserve residents are charged with involvement in the death of 8-year-old M.L. Lloyd III, who is Tonya Victor’s son and Errol Victor’s stepson.

Lorio said the grand jury charged Errol Victor, 42, with first-degree murder, based on evidence from the St. John Sheriff’s Office, and statements he made on the day he brought his stepson to the hospital. He said Tonya Victor, 33, and Errol Victor Jr., 24, were both charged with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.

In addition to accessory, Tonya Victor was also charged with cruelty to a juvenile for, according to the indictment, “knowingly and intentionally mistreating and neglecting the child, causing unjustifiable pain and suffering.” The indictment does not disclose what Tonya Victor allegedly did to her son to cause the pain.

The charges stem from an April 1 incident in which the family transported Lloyd to River Parishes Hospital claiming he was unresponsive. Medical personnel later pronounced Lloyd dead in the emergency room.

According to Sheriff’s Office reports, the family would later be arrested based on physical evidence of abuse found all over the child’s body by emergency room staff, as well as statements made by Errol Victor Sr. that he would “take responsibility for what happened.”

Errol Victor Sr. and Errol Victor Jr. faced an arraignment hearing Wednesday afternoon before state district Judge Madeline Jasmine. Both men entered pleas of not guilty to the charges against them.

Since a new charge was levied against Tonya Victor, her arraignment was scheduled for another date. She was taken into custody, booked with the child cruelty charge, and released immediately since Jasmine determined the current $250,000 bond was sufficient for both charges.

Also at Wednesday’s hearing, Jasmine postponed a preliminary examination hearing while attorneys for both sides await additional autopsy results from Lloyd’s body. Initial results were inconclusive in determining the cause of death. St. John Coroner Christy Montegut said the boy had widespread bruising all across his body, but none of the bruises were fatal.

Jake Lemmon, an attorney for the Victor family, argued at the hearing that there was no direct evidence that the death of the child happened at the hands of the family. The family’s attorneys have said that Lloyd suffered from a pre-existing condition, and that he has a history of fainting.

Lemmon also argued that previous testimony from St. John Sheriff’s Office Detective Kenneth Mitchell did not give concrete facts as to why the defendants were arrested. He said that no one could present solid evidence that Errol Victor Sr. killed his stepson.

Assistant District Attorney Barry Landry responded by saying the initial autopsy did reveal that the child did not die from a genetic defect, and said photos from the examination showed physical evidence of a severe beating of the young child.

Landry said the photos depicted conclusive evidence of cruel treatment, which is grounds for first-degree murder. He said the severe beating, which Landry said Errol Victor instituted because the child had been caught stealing, might have caused the boy to go into shock.

Since the preliminary examination was postponed, Jasmine continued to deny bond to Errol Victor Sr., saying that the examination is used for bond purposes. Additional autopsy results, including fluid tests from Lloyd’s body, would not be ready for another three weeks.

As he left the courtroom in the custody of St. John deputies, Errol Victor Sr. continued to proclaim his innocence, saying that no one has heard his side of the story. He faces life in prison, or the possibility of the death penalty if convicted on first-degree murder charges.

Tonya Victor and Errol Victor Jr. face a maximum of five years of prison for the accessory charges. Tonya Victor’s new charge of cruelty to a juvenile carries a 10-year sentence.

The family is scheduled to appear in court again on May 29.