Charge: Injured boy, 4, down on couch as killer stood over him in N. Minnesota home

A 28-year-old man has been charged with killing his girlfriend's 4-year-old son in her northern Minnesota home.

Kevin D. Jackson of Deer River, Minn., was charged Friday in Itasca County District Court with second-degree murder in connection with the boy's death Wednesday.

Jackson remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail ahead of a Sept. 3 court appearance.

Emergency personnel responded to a 911 call shortly after 5 p.m. at a home in Inger, about 35 miles northwest of Grand Rapids. They tried to revive the boy, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the criminal complaint.

Jackson had on rubber gloves and was standing over the boy, who was facedown on a couch and covered with a blanket, the mother's brother told a sheriff's investigator, according to the complaint.

Medical personnel suggested the boy may have suffocated, the complaint said.

Law enforcement located Jackson at a home nearby. He said he didn't know what happened to the boy, the complaint read.

The boy's mother said she and Jackson had used methamphetamine the previous day, according to the court filing.

Jackson's criminal history in the past nine years includes felony convictions for auto theft and drug possession. He also has misdemeanor convictions for theft and assault.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482