Watch CBS News

Father Of Boy Found In Freezer Says He Failed To Protect Son

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) — A man says he could have done more to prevent the death of his 9-year-old son whose body was found in a freezer in Detroit.

Steve Berry says he accepts some blame for the death of Stephen Berry. He replied, "correct," when a state lawyer asked if he had failed to protect the boy.

A judge heard a second day of testimony Friday to determine if parental rights should be terminated. Berry had another child with Mitchelle Blair but doesn't live in the home.

The bodies of Stoni Blair, 13, and Stephen Berry were discovered at the Martin Luther King Apartments in Detroit back in March.

During Friday's testimony, Dr. Carl Schmidt with the Wayne County Medical Examiners office spoke about some of the injuries suffered by the young girl.

"She had multiple blows to the head, the entire scalp with suffused with hemorrhage which meant that she had received numerous impacts over the head," Schmidt said. "She had every body surface covered with something. Wherever you looked there was either a scar or an ulceration."

Blair is charged with killing two other children and placing the bodies in a freezer. She raised her middle fingers as she entered court Friday. On Thursday, she yelled that she killed the kids.

TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.