Murder charge: Mankato teen charged in severe beating of boy, 2½

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder in connection with the severe beating and subsequent death of a 2 ½-year-old boy in Mankato nearly two weeks ago, authorities said Thursday.

Lee W. Young Jr. was arrested near his home Wednesday in the 500 block of N. 5th Street and was charged by juvenile petition in Blue Earth County District Court with second-degree murder.

He is being held in a secure juvenile facility, police said.

The County Attorney's Office said in the petition that it will seek to have the teen prosecuted as an adult.

Defense attorney Kevin Green said Thursday afternoon that it was too early for him to comment on the allegations.

Officers arrived about 4:40 p.m. on April 16 at an apartment in the 300 block of Eastport Drive, where CPR was performed on the toddler, according to police.

The child was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead there.

According to the charging document:

An autopsy by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office found "significant bruising" to the boy's face, head, chest, back and legs. The death was ruled a homicide.

"The medical examiner determined there were so many contusions he could not count the number of blows delivered," the petition read.

The autopsy also found obvious signs of sexual assault.

Young was at the apartment with a preteen girl. The child's mother, who is in a romantic relationship with Young's father, had left to run an errand.