A Wixom man accused of sexually assaulting and killing his girlfriend’s infant will face an Oakland County Circuit judge for possible trial, after a district judge ruled there was enough evidence for the case to proceed.
Christopher Savage, 24, is held in the Oakland County Jail denied bond for crimes connected to the death of 1-year-old McKinley Hardy. The child died at Children’s Hospital in Detroit after sustaining multiple injuries.
According to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, McKinley had been left in Savage’s care and he was the only one with her when she was injured.
Shortly after midnight on June 1, police were called to a home in the 30000 block of Tamarack Drive in The Village apartments on a report of an unresponsive child and found Savage and McKinley’s mother performing CPR on her, the prosecutor’s office said.
Savage was initially charged with first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse. Two counts of first-degree criminal sexual assault were subsequently added.
First-degree criminal sexual conduct involves sexual penetration and is punishable by up to life in prison, as is first-degree child abuse. First-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
At the conclusion of a preliminary exam Thursday in 52-1 District Court, Judge Robert Bondy advanced the case to the higher court. Savage is scheduled for an Oct. 9 arraignment before Oakland County Circuit Judge Nanci Grant.
In 2022, another young child suffered fatal injuries at The Village apartments, at the hands of his mother’s then-boyfriend. Jaice DuPont had been left in the care of Deangelo Hawkins who inflicted a severe head injury on the 4-year-old. Jaice died at Mott Children’s Hospital five days after he was hurt, never regaining consciousness after the assault. Hawkins had called 911 and reportedly told police the child was injured when he fell brushing his teeth.
Hawkins had a trial in Oakland County Circuit Court, and was found guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse. Last December, he was sentenced to life in prison.