Fresno man, Demetris Reese plead not guilty in boy's death

FRESNO, Calif.

Reese and the boy's mother claim her son swallowed laundry detergent and died a few days later. But in a new search warrant, police say Reese tried to take away some evidence during their investigation. They also had coroners check for another crime.

Reese showed little emotion as the court arraigned him on a murder. He said only one word as his attorney pleaded not guilty on his behalf.

"He denies the charges against him and we've already started on trying to locate witnesses that can confirm his lack of involvement," said defense attorney Roger Litman.

Police believe Reese killed the pre-schooler and coroners say the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the abdomen.

An autopsy found bruises all over his body. A search warrant shows coroners collected DNA from a bite mark on his arm. Police also had them collect possible evidence of sexual assault. That's why we're not identifying the boy. But Reese's attorney says his client did everything he could to save the 4-year-old.

"Among other efforts to save this child, he was involved in administering CPR before the paramedics arrived," Litman said.

In an exclusive interview with Action News last month, the boy's mother said she thought he died from drinking laundry detergent three days before his death.

"Before that he was fine," said Jennifer Crawford. "He never drank nothing. He thought it was water. He went to the counter and got it off and drank it and I said 'What'd you drink baby?'

"He said 'Water,' and he's like 'The water's nasty.' I smelled it and it was laundry detergent."

The search warrant shows police also seized nearly every liquid they found in the house -- including laundry detergent, as well as antifreeze, shampoo, and other cleaners.

Reese is due back in court in two weeks.