(PEORIA, IL) On Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at approximately 10:06 a.m., Peoria Police responded to the 300 block of South Kersee on a report of a 7-month-old baby who was not breathing.
Responding officers were advised that CPR was in progress.
Upon arrival, officers located the infant in an upstairs bedroom, where Peoria Fire Department personnel and AMT medics were performing life-saving measures.
The child was transported by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased.
Initial information provided by the caregiver indicated the child had been placed in bed overnight with a parent. Investigators were told the parent rolled over onto the child during the night, and upon waking that morning, discovered the baby was unresponsive.
An autopsy conducted later in the day revealed internal injuries inconsistent with a rollover death and instead consistent with a traumatic, non-accidental event.
For further information regarding the cause and manner of death, please contact the Peoria County Coroner’s Office.
Later that day, detectives located Dwayne D. Davis, 41 years of age, in the 2000 block of N. North Street.
Davis was transported to the Peoria Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division for interviewing purposes and subsequently arrested for First Degree Murder and Endangering the Life and Health of a Child Resulting in Death.
Davis was then transported to the Peoria County Jail.
This investigation remains ongoing.
All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Anyone with information relevant to this investigation is encouraged to contact Detective Kris Kampas at (309) 494-8366 or provide anonymous tips via Crimestoppers at (309) 673-4521 or Tip411.