Woman, boyfriend face murder charges in 4-year-old’s death

A woman and her boyfriend are accused in the fatal beating of a 4-year-old boy nearly three years after he was found dead.

Ronald Pierresaint, 32, was arrested this week and charged with murder and child abuse and neglect in connection with the death of Jhmarye Tyler, who was found dead Aug. 15, 2019 at a Siegel Suites at 100 S. Martin Luther King Blvd., according to an arrest report released Wednesday by the Metropolitan Police Department.

A warrant also was issued for Jhmarye’s mother, Lishae Macfield on a charges of murder and child abuse and neglect, according to court records.

After Jhmarye was found, Macfield and Pierresaint told paramedics he had recently been hospitalized for pneumonia and sickle cell disease, and they felt he had a seizure because of the medication prescribed, according to the arrest report.

Detectives immediately noticed the “numerous physical marks and bruises” on his body, and a child-sized hole in the wall above the bed Jhmarye shared with his three brothers.

An autopsy performed by the Clark County coroner’s office showed 21 injuries to his head and neck, 23 injuries to his torso and 14 injuries to his arms and legs. Most of the injuries were suffered two weeks to a month before his death, and Jhmarye suffered a brain bleed, the coroner determined.

In April 2021, his cause of death was ruled as a homicide from multiple blunt force injuries.

Macfield, Pierresaint and a cousin who also was watching the four boys all told police a similar story about family frustrations with potty training Jhmarye and his twin brother.

On Aug. 13, Jhmarye started complaining he couldn’t move his muscles and he began wetting himself again and falling.

When asked about the injuries on Jhmarye’s body Macfield told police “she wrote them off as the boys injuring each other by play fighting.”

In an interview with Jhmarye’s twin brother and older brother, both boys told investigators that Pierresaint would beat them with shoes, belts and closed fists. The older brother said his mother and cousin were home when the beatings happened.

Macfield told police she was at work the day before Jhmarye’s death, and each time she called home Pierresaint told her the boys were moving and playing. But a cousin staying in the house told police that was a lie, and Jhmarye spent the day in bed refusing to move.

Macfield returned home at 1 a.m. and told police she had a conversation with her 4-year-old, but when she saw him again around 7:45 a.m. on Aug. 15, 2019, he had foam coming from his mouth and was unresponsive.

She recalled several times when Pierresaint threatened to “whoop” the children, three of whom were not his, and once when he hit them for coloring on the walls.

Pierresaint told police he did not discipline Macfield’s kids and instead always asked her to do so.

All three caregivers denied seeing any bruises on the boy’s body.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.