Tampa woman arrested after police say she killed her 4-year-old son

Tampa police have arrested a woman they say murdered her 4-year-old son.

Arayia Hudson, 36, was arrested just before 7:30 p.m. Monday on a charge of first-degree murder in the commission of a child abuse offense, police said in a news release.

At 4:37 a.m. Saturday, Hudson called 911 from her home in the 8400 block of North 15th Street and said her son, Joseph, was not moving. She performed CPR until police arrived, court documents say.

Hudson told police that Joseph began coughing and gasping for breath after eating potato chips and drinking water. She said Joseph had mucus and water coming out of his nose and mouth, according to court documents.

Joseph was unresponsive when police arrived a few minutes later. They continued CPR until Tampa Fire Rescue took him to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:51 a.m.

An autopsy showed Joseph’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and torso, court documents said.

In an interview at the scene, Hudson told detectives that Joseph had had a fungal infection on the top of his head for more than a year. She also said his head was swollen after he fell off a swing at the park a few days earlier. She said Joseph had stopped eating, was moving slowly and was wheezing during that time, court documents say.

Investigators with the Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Joseph had numerous other injuries, including bruises, scratches to his torso, swelling to his brain, a lacerated liver, bruising to his intestines, internal bleeding, dark discoloration around his eyes, and injuries to his buttocks and scrotum.

One of Hudson’s sons told detectives he saw his mother kick Joseph in the stomach and bang his head against a bathroom wall several times on Thursday and Friday.

He said Joseph was “nearly unconscious” for both days after being kicked and punched, court records say. He also told detectives he saw his mother hit Joseph in the scrotum, mouth, buttocks and hands with a shoe.

According to court documents, the son was hesitant to talk to detectives because he “didn’t want his mother to go to jail.”

Hudson’s other son told detectives he helped his mother discipline Joseph by holding his hands and hitting him with a shoe.

Detectives discovered that Hudson tried to cover up the abuse by telling them she was scolding Joseph because he played with his feces, court records show. In an interview, she told detectives that she hit him with her shoe several times, causing him to hit his head against the bathroom wall. Hudson also said she used tinted sunscreen to cover bruises around Joseph’s eyes.

“This is a heinous crime. Every child deserves to feel safe in their own home, especially with their mother,” Police Chief Lee Bercaw said in a news release. “The Tampa Police Department is committed to bringing Joseph to justice and keeping all children in our community safe.”

Police said Hudson’s two other sons had been returned to their fathers, who did not live with her.

Records show Hudson was being held Tuesday at the Falkenburg Road Jail in Tampa without bail. Prosecutors have filed a motion to hold her pending the outcome of the case. A hearing on the motion has not yet been scheduled.