Starks, a native of the Parlin section of Sayreville, had been baby-sitting his girlfriend's three children, including Amir, at the time of the toddler's death, authorities said. "We can only speculate about what caused the injuries, but we've reached the conclusion they surely could not have been made by a fall or accident," Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow said.
Starks did not live with Amir and was not his father, authorities said. He was being held in the Union County Jail in lieu of $500,000 as investigators tried to reconstruct events that led to the child's death.
"It's a horrible tragedy to have any child abused and subsequently murdered as a result of that abuse," said Romankow. "Any person who would subject a child to this type of conduct deserves the full measure of the law."
A convicted felon, Starks had been released from prison in February. He spent a little over three years in state prison on robbery and drug charges, according to the state Department of Corrections website. He had been seeing Amir's mother for about a year, according to Romankow.
Amir's mother left her children with Starks for the first time as she stepped out Thursday night, Romankow said. Less than half an hour later, the 2-year-old woke up crying for his mother. An asthmatic with a history of seizures, Amir was also having trouble breathing and may have gone into a seizure, authorities said.
Authorities said they do not know exactly what Starks did next, but he eventually called Amir's mother and 911. When police arrived at the East Elizabeth Avenue apartment, they found the toddler in "acute distress" on his mother's bed. He died at the hospital a short time later.
Authorities released only scant details Friday, but a preliminary autopsy showed a severed spine, severed aorta, multiple internal injuries and marks on the neck that could indicate "some type of strangulation hold," Romankow said.
Amir's mother was identified by a relative as Chantal Thompson.
Kate Bernyk, a spokesman for the state Department of Children and Families, said there was no case history with the family and that Thompson's two other children, ages 12 and 5, would remain at home.
Last night at the Rahway home where Starks lives with his grandmother, a man who said he was Starks' brother answered the door.
Kevin Black, 18, said he had just arrived from South Carolina with other family members.
"All I know is my brother's innocent," said Black. "He loved that child. He would never do that. He would never hurt that child."
Black added the "whole family has been crying our eyes out."
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