CPS Silent After Mom’s New Man Brutalizes Son

Braden Dwayne Lee Ferguson was born on March 27th, 2014, to 17-year-old parents Daryl Ferguson and Kelsey (renamed Michelle) Martin of Dayton, Ohio. He eventually had a baby half-brother named Ryan. He also had his paternal grandparents, Eddie Ferguson and Victoria Bitner, his maternal grandmother, Danielle Martin, and many aunts, uncles, cousins, and great-grandparents who loved him. Braden was a happy little boy with blonde hair and big blue eyes. He loved sharks, Nemo and Dory, taking selfies, and playing with the family dogs—Alex, Cookie, Chance, and Bella—and his mama’s kitty. He was a happy-go-lucky kid who loved to play. He especially loved water, whether it was in the bathtub or splashing in the pool.

Braden’s father, Daryl, was not around for much of Braden’s early life. At the time Braden was born, Daryl already had a lengthy record of juvenile convictions. In June of 2014, when Braden was just a few months old, Daryl and another man got into a fight with a man named Ryan Adams. The two men beat Ryan until he fell unconscious, and then Daryl’s companion took the man’s wallet and shoes. Ryan was hospitalized and then died a couple of months later as a result of his injuries. Despite being only 17, Daryl was tried in adult court and was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Now that Braden’s father was out of the picture, Kelsey quickly found a new boyfriend. Sometime in 2015, when Braden was a year old, Kelsey began dating 22-year-old Ryan St. John, who went by his middle name, Luke. On October 10th, 2015, 18-month-old Braden was brought to the hospital for dehydration and falling down. Blood work was done at the time, which showed elevated liver enzymes. He was eventually diagnosed with a viral infection which affected his ability to walk.

About a month later, on November 19th, Braden was again brought to the Dayton Children’s Hospital. This time, he was so badly bruised that the hospital officials contacted the Dayton Police, who launched an investigation. Dayton PD officer Brandon Cardi wrote in the initial incident report that the child had injuries to the head, neck, leg, and foot, which the medical staff felt was consistent with child abuse. Dayton PD detective Lindsay Delaney went to the hospital and spoke to Luke and Kelsey. They both told the detective that Kelsey was staying the night with Luke and that Braden’s bruises were from falling out of his playpen. Kelsey said that Braden had health issues and bruised easily, but records showed that Braden had bruising to his face and the side of his head, as well as strangulation marks on his neck. He had what they called spotty bruising over various parts of his body. The records stated there was a scabbed burn on his left third toe, a blister burn on the bottom of his right foot, and a scabbed burn on his left ankle. The child also had a linear abrasion on his right posterior calf and three patterned linear scars on his left lateral thigh. The child also had multiple linear abrasions on his face.

The police arrested Luke and interviewed him downtown. Luke told the investigators that he had gotten up with Braden in the middle of the night, changed his diaper, and fed him fruit snacks. Luke said he put Braden back to bed and denied any involvement in Braden’s injuries. Detective Delaney wrote in her report that he denied hitting him, choking him, or causing any injury. The following day, Montgomery County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Emily Sluck requested additional information from Detective Delaney, who did not respond to the request. Luke was released from jail with no charges after 48 hours.

Meanwhile, Braden spent 4 days in the hospital. Then, the Montgomery County Juvenile Court placed him in the custody of Dawn Patrick, his great-great-aunt. Child Services still had serious concerns about Luke, and on December 9th, 2015, a complaint was filed in juvenile court requesting temporary custody. The complaint stated that Detective Delaney reported there were text messages between Luke and Kelsey discussing ways to cover up the child’s injuries and to not take the child to the hospital. The complaint also said that Braden had a busted upper lip and that Luke had a cut on his hand where it looked like he punched Braden in the mouth. Social worker notes also said that Braden had a minimally displaced skull fracture. However, the detective’s report on the case did not note any of this information, and records do not show what exactly Detective Delaney or anyone else at the police department did in response to the case. Apparently, on November 30th, 2015, Detective Delaney noted in the police computer report system that she had started an investigation and interviewed people; however, her report did not say who she talked to or what anyone said, just that supplemental reports would follow.

When Braden’s great-great-aunt Dawn brought him home after that first hospital visit, she said the abuse was obvious. She said he had bruising all over him, on his midsection, and on his legs. He had two skull fractures, and they were pretty sure he had liver damage, which they were speculating had been from being hit in the stomach. He had a burn mark on the bottom of his foot. She thought, “Oh my God, somebody has been beating him.” It was apparent. However, Kelsey told Dawn she didn’t know how Braden had been injured.

The juvenile court seemed to believe that Luke was responsible, and on March 15th, 2016, a magistrate’s order extended Dawn’s custody of Braden. The order noted that the child sustained physical injuries caused by the mother’s paramour and that the mother failed to appropriately address the child’s medical needs. The order also stated there shall be no contact with Ryan St. John.

Even though her child was clearly sustaining heavy abuse before he was even 2 years old, Kelsey stayed in a relationship with Luke, and then she got pregnant with his child. Dawn was appalled. She said, “I found out about it and I told the caseworker, ‘She’s pregnant, he’s the father. If she’s not seeing him and she’s not supposed to have contact with him, how did she end up pregnant?'” Dawn remembers that when she said this to the caseworker, the caseworker just looked at her and replied, “Well, she doesn’t look pregnant to me.”

Caseworker notes from 2016 document face-to-face visits with Braden in Dawn’s home in January and March. Those notes indicate that Child Services knew that Kelsey was still seeing Luke. A caseworker note on January 7th, 2016, says, “Report that Kelsey is still seeing offender,” and on March 16th, the caseworker noted that they saw Kelsey’s car at Luke’s house. Dawn specifically asked the caseworkers to make sure that Luke had no contact with Braden. Dawn said, “I knew for a fact Kelsey was still seeing Luke and that she was currently pregnant, and I said, ‘I know this is bad, something is going to happen to him.’ They made it clear to me she wasn’t supposed to be in contact with him.”

On May 9th, 2016, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Emily Sluck again requested additional information from Detective Delaney, who again did not respond. On May 12th, the detective created an entry into the police investigative logs, but added no new information. The juvenile court gave custody of Braden back to Kelsey on August 22nd, 2016. Notes regarding Kelsey’s reinstated custody said she completed parenting classes, she maintained employment and housing, she attended all of Braden’s weekly visitations with the exception of maybe two to three visits, she also attended Braden’s therapy and other medical visits, and she showed a willingness to protect her child. Because of all that, Kelsey was able to take custody of Braden again. However, the judge placed Braden under protective supervision and mandated that a caseworker would do routine visits to check on Braden’s welfare.

On August 29th, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Emily Sluck again requested additional information from Detective Delaney. Once again, Detective Delaney did not respond to her request. Finally, nearly a year after a case was first opened on Braden, Detective Delaney updated her report on November 10th, 2016. In it, she wrote that on November 19th, 2015, Luke said he threw Braden up in the air and then caught him by the neck. The report later states that Luke is playful, that they boxed together, and that the child fell out of the pack-and-play as described earlier. Case reports showed that Braden had strangulation marks, spotty bruises, and abrasions all over his body, but apparently, in her opinion, Luke was being playful and that was enough to explain all of these things away. The detective’s report ended with—and I quote—”This case was presented to APA Sluck; charges were refused at this time.”

That seemed to be the end of it. Despite the horrific injuries that Braden had from that incident in 2015, nothing much changed. Kelsey once again had custody of her son, and she stayed in a relationship with Luke. Kelsey gave birth to Luke’s son on November 3rd, 2016. She named him Ryan after his father. Pictures from that time show that Braden absolutely adored his new little brother. He has a big grin in many of the pictures of the two of them together. It was clear that he was so proud to be a big brother to Baby Ryan. Braden loved his family wholeheartedly with the joy of the innocent 2-year-old that he was.

A review of Kelsey’s case plan on November 18th found that she was complying with its requirements. The review noted that it was unclear who had abused Braden in the past, but that Kelsey will need to be especially watchful from this point forward, making sure Braden is left with safe caregivers. On December 3rd, 2016, Kelsey and Luke moved into a two-bedroom apartment in the North Lake Hills Apartment Complex in Dayton. Luke’s younger brother, Ian, also lived with them, sleeping in the living room. Several of Luke’s family members also lived at North Lake Hills: his mother, Missy; his older brother, Zach; Zach’s girlfriend, Janie; and their two children lived together in an apartment across the parking lot from Luke and Kelsey’s apartment. Luke’s father, Brian St. John, lived in another apartment building in the complex as well.

Braden would often stay with Luke or Luke’s mother, Missy, while Kelsey was at work. Kelsey would also leave Braden with her own grandmother or with an aunt. Braden seemed to be a topic of fights between Kelsey and Luke, who argued over things that Braden did or him talking on the phone with his biological father, Daryl. On February 13th, 2017, Kelsey had a scheduled court appearance in traffic court for driving with expired tags. She got a wakeup call at about 7:30 a.m. from Luke’s mother, Missy, and then she checked in on Braden. He needed to use the toilet, so they both visited the bathroom, and then she put Braden in bed with Luke. Braden was fussy about her leaving, so Luke got up to play video games with him. Kelsey left at about 8:00 a.m. while Luke stayed at home with Braden and Baby Ryan. Luke’s younger brother, Ian, had already left that morning at about 6:00 a.m.

A little after 9:00 a.m., Kelsey got a text from Luke saying that Braden had spit up. She asked what he meant since Braden wasn’t sick at all, and Luke’s text response was, “It was like spit, not really throw up, but we’re going back to sleep.” He texted her several more times that morning, which she thought was unusual. When she came home at around 10:30 a.m., she saw Braden sleeping in bed where she had left him. Luke and Kelsey then smoked some weed, watched a two-hour movie, and then decided to take a shower. According to Kelsey, she peaked in on Braden, saw that he was half asleep, and put on the movie Finding Dory for him in case he woke up. When she was in the shower, she looked in on him twice and didn’t realize anything was wrong. To quote the eventual prosecutor: “What she didn’t know, and what she likely now will never be able to forget, is though he looked half awake, Braden was laying there dying.”

After showering, Kelsey realized it was close to 1:00 p.m. and decided to wake up Braden. She walked to the bed, took off Braden’s blanket, and noticed that he was blue in the face. Shocked, Kelsey picked up Braden and ran into the living room. She told Luke to call 911, but instead he tried to call his mother and then his brother, Zach. At 12:54 p.m., Kelsey called 911 herself. During this chaotic phone call, Kelsey can be heard saying, “Oh my God, I went in there to wake him up and his lips were blue. He’s not breathing. Can you please hurry up and get here?” Janie, Zach, Missy, and one of Kelsey’s neighbors also rushed into the apartment. Missy attempted CPR unsuccessfully until medics arrived. According to Kelsey, Luke was in the background during this, yelling something like, “Oh my God, I’m about to go to prison.”

Medics arrived and took Braden to Dayton Children’s Hospital at 1:04 p.m. Kelsey rode in the ambulance with Braden. Luke was still at the apartment when she got into the ambulance, and he never came to the hospital. He had fled from the apartment by the time police arrived. Another officer arrived to transport Baby Ryan to the hospital to be with Kelsey and check his welfare as well. Several members of Kelsey and Luke’s extended family were still at the apartment, and from statements made by different family members, it seemed clear that many of them thought that Luke was responsible for Braden’s condition.

The police made several attempts to contact Luke over the next couple of hours and eventually talked to him on the phone. Luke said that he was scared, he had not been in much trouble before, and he did not want to go to jail. The officer who spoke to him tried to arrange a meeting, but he did not show up. Finally, police found Luke at his brother’s apartment at about 2:00 the next morning. He was placed in the cruiser and driven to the police station. On the way, Luke asked how his son was. The officer responded that his son was currently in the ICU with his mother. Luke said they weren’t talking about the same son, and instead asked about his infant son, Ryan, saying that if he was with his mom, then he was okay. Luke did not ask about Braden at all during his ride to the station.

Once at the police station, Luke waived his Miranda rights to talk to investigators. He simply said that Kelsey had left that morning after putting Braden in bed with him and that he later got up to play video games. He said that the boys were asleep the entire time that Kelsey was gone, and that after she came home, they watched a movie and then took a shower. Luke said that after they showered, Kelsey noticed that it was almost 1:00, so Luke suggested she go wake up Braden. That’s when Kelsey discovered Braden wasn’t breathing. Luke did not admit to any involvement in Braden’s condition.

Upon arrival at the hospital, Braden was unresponsive, not breathing on his own, and his pupils were fixed and dilated. He also had significant bruising on his forehead and the back of his head, with obvious swelling under his scalp. He had bruises on his torso and back. He also had a burn mark on his ankle; this was later determined to be from cigarette ash accidentally falling on Braden’s ankle while he was wrapped in the car seat. Finally, Braden was showing signs of significant brain damage.

At 1:30 p.m., Braden was taken for a CT scan, which revealed a very significant depressed skull fracture, a large area of bleeding on his brain, and massive brain swelling. The swelling was pushing his brain down towards the hole in the base of his skull, putting pressure on his brainstem. Doctors felt that Braden had a very poor prognosis. At approximately 2:10 p.m., in an effort to save Braden’s life, Dr. Kamel Kami, a pediatric neurosurgeon, performed surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain. Braden survived the surgery, but his condition did not improve.

The next morning, on February 14th, 2017, Braden was examined by Dr. Lori Vavul-Roediger, a pediatrician specialized in child abuse. When she saw Braden, he was comatose, did not respond to stimuli, and had signs of significant neurological abnormality. She felt he was very close to death. Dr. Vavul-Roediger noted that Braden had suffered from a viral infection in October 2015 that affected his ability to walk, but stated the condition had resolved and was unrelated to his present head trauma. Two neurological tests were performed 12 hours apart, and sadly, both tests showed that Braden had no brain function.

Based on the doctor’s evaluations, Kelsey and Daryl, who is Braden’s biological father, decided to remove his breathing tube. Without life support, little 2-year-old Braden passed away at 6:49 p.m. He died on February 14th, Valentine’s Day—a day meant to celebrate love. Instead, Braden would never hear or say the words “I love you” ever again.

On February 16th, Ryan Luke St. John was charged with two counts of homicide, two counts of child endangerment, involuntary manslaughter, and felonious assault. Luke pleaded not guilty, and his bond was set at half a million dollars. Luke’s trial began on April 2nd, 2018. His defense attorney, William Cass Jr., tried to divert blame for Braden’s death by saying that Luke was not the only adult present that morning and that Kelsey had also been there. He said, “This is a whodunit. There were two people that were around Braden that day.” He also said that Braden was not the healthiest child because he had been sick and was small for his age. He said, “It gives you some insight into the level of care that Braden received. I think that will be important when you tie all this together.” He tried to paint Luke as a loving father who, after Kelsey gave birth to his son, lived as a family where Luke was a stay-at-home dad who loved both boys and took care of them by himself many times. He pointed the finger instead at Kelsey, saying that she was faking her emotions when she called 911 to report Braden’s injuries.

However, a fellow inmate named Dustin Middleton also testified at the trial. He was a convicted felon who said he met Luke during recreation time at the Montgomery County Jail. Dustin testified that Luke told him about that fateful morning when he was left alone with Braden. Luke told him that after Kelsey left the home, the boy kept crying for his mother. Luke put on a Nemo movie for Braden, but became aggravated after Braden spit up. According to Dustin, Luke said the baby kept continuing to cry, and that’s when he grabbed the baby by the face and slammed the baby’s head into the wall. Then he grabbed the baby, shook the baby, told him to “shut the fuck up,” and then tossed him on the ground while he went out to smoke a cigarette. Prior to doing that, Dustin testified that Luke said when he came back in, Braden was not crying or moving, so Luke picked him up and put him in bed.

The prosecutor asked Dustin what Luke’s demeanor was like while telling the story in jail. Dustin said Luke was more or less just kind of emotionless, just kind of talking like a normal conversation. This witness statement was considered credible because Dustin knew details that had not yet been released to the public, such as the fact that Kelsey had gone to traffic court that morning or that Luke had put on a Nemo movie for Braden. Additionally, Luke called his brother from jail, and during the conversation, he admitted to talking to Dustin about the incident.

Dr. Robert Shott of the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office testified that the numerous injuries on Braden’s body were definitely not caused by an accident and could not be caused by a fall from a bed. He said the injuries were closer to those he’d seen in either high-speed motor vehicle accidents, gunshot wounds, or a fall from four to five stories. Braden’s autopsy confirmed that he had died of multiple blunt force injuries. The coroner observed bruising on the left side of Braden’s face and jaw, and three bruises on Braden’s chest, one of which was a deep chest wall bruise consistent with knuckle marks. He also had a bruise to the thymus gland, bruising and bleeding into a portion of the back wall of his stomach, and more bruises on his back. There was also a large, extensive, irregular fracture of Braden’s skull at the back of the head.

Dr. Shott stated that the stomach injury would have likely caused a lot of pain, abdominal discomfort, and spitting or throwing up, but Braden would have been awake and conscious the whole time. When asked about the symptoms from the head injury, Dr. Shott responded, “An injury like this could render somebody immediately unconscious, potentially even rapidly basically dead within minutes to hours. There may be a lucid interval; they may be unconscious and then come back awake for a period of time. If the child is not unconscious immediately, they may scream or cry out for a period of time. There’s a lot of nerves in the scalp; it’s going to hurt a lot.” Dr. Shott said that a child with this kind of injury could appear as if they were sleeping or dazed, which fits with Kelsey’s testimony that Braden looked half asleep when she checked in on him.

Dr. Kamian, the surgeon who tried to save Braden, testified that based on the CT scans and his observations during the surgery, the trauma to Braden occurred within 3 to 6 hours from the time of surgery. That would put the time of injuries approximately between 8:10 a.m. and 11:10 a.m. on February 13th, 2017. He did say that the accuracy of that estimate could vary and that the trauma could have possibly happened within 2 to 7 hours before surgery, but it would not have occurred outside that timeframe.

Graphic autopsy photos of 2-year-old Braden were shown to the jury on the first day of the murder trial. These photos were so horrific that they caused some people in the court to gasp, cry, and leave the courtroom. On Friday, April 6th, 2018, jurors took only about three and a half hours to render a verdict. Luke was found guilty for the homicide of Braden. He was also found guilty as charged on all other counts, including felonious assault, voluntary manslaughter, and endangering children.

On May 1st, Judge Gregory Singer sentenced Luke to 18 years to life in prison. During the sentencing, the judge noted that Luke seemed to show no remorse for what he had done. The judge also awarded Luke 442 days of jail time credit per state law. Luke’s father, Brian, felt that if Luke was guilty, Kelsey and Child Protective Services were as much to blame for Braden’s death. He said—and I quote—”Honestly, as much as I hate to say it, if my son did this and she allowed it because she was warned by family, she was warned by Children’s Services, she was warned by everybody to keep Luke away… and if she would have kept Luke away, you’d have no story.” Brian said he was in the home with his son when a caseworker showed up one day to check on Braden, meaning that they knew that Luke was in contact with the child. He said, “I was sitting there when the caseworker came by to do a regular visit and Luke was sitting on the couch. She said, ‘Hi Luke, bye Luke.'” He also said, “I think the people that were living with Braden failed him. I think the people that did not enforce the protective order failed him. And I think even myself, knowing there was a protective order in place, failed Braden.”

Before Luke was sentenced in court, Kelsey read a victim impact statement from the perspective of little Braden, who would have been four years old at the time. She read: “My name is Braden Dwayne Lee Ferguson. I was almost 3 years old when my mom’s boyfriend beat me up and killed me. I don’t know what I did to make him so mad that he hurt me the way he did. I don’t know why he ever did not like me. I don’t know why he didn’t love me like he loved my bubby. I tried to be good, I really did.” Kelsey read that Braden celebrated his birthdays in heaven, but that he wouldn’t ever go to school, play sports, get a job, find a wife, have children or grandchildren, watch his younger brother grow up, or celebrate holidays with family. She read: “I should be getting ready to go to preschool, but I can’t. They don’t have preschool in heaven.” After hearing Luke’s sentence, Kelsey said, “He got what he deserved. He deserved everything they handed him today.”

Luke appealed the sentence, but on February 22nd, 2019, the Court of Appeals upheld the sentence. He is currently in prison at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution and will be eligible for parole in 2034.

Early in 2018, Dayton City officials charged Detective Lindsay Delaney with administrative violations for not properly investigating the original child abuse allegations against Luke in 2015. She was also charged for failing to properly supplement her police report and for failing to respond to a prosecutor’s repeated requests for additional information. Detective Delaney was found guilty of these charges and was punished with a 40-day suspension. However, in lieu of the suspension, Detective Delaney instead forfeited 5 days of vacation time.

According to Luke’s father, Brian, Braden’s little brother, Ryan, was in foster care at the time of Luke’s trial. Active cases on children are not public, so our research was unable to verify this or determine who he is living with today. However, we should note that in July of 2023, Kelsey and a man named Christopher May had warrants issued for their arrests in relation to drug charges. The incident that these charges arose from occurred in September of 2022. The pair were indicted for eight counts each of aggravated trafficking in drugs and aggravated possession of drugs, such as trafficking in cocaine and possession of cocaine. In addition, the other drugs involved were meth, oxycodone, clonazepam, amphetamine, as well as others. As far as we can determine, this case is still working its way through the court system, which does not seem to bode well for Kelsey’s custody of little Ryan.

On Wednesday, February 15th, 2017, the day after Braden died, family and friends gathered at Eastwood Park in Dayton for a vigil to honor the 2-year-old little boy. There were more than a hundred people gathered at the park on the shores of the lake. Braden’s grandmother, Victoria, remembered him, saying, “He’s a very well-loved and liked child. Braden loved the water; he loved the pools, the bathtub—he just loved water.” She also said, “Speak out, tell somebody, get help before it’s too late. I didn’t suspect child abuse. I wish I would have.”

According to his obituary, Braden’s funeral was held on Saturday, February 18th, 2017, at 12:00 p.m. at Newcomer Funeral Home in Dayton with Pastor William Loudermilk officiating. Braden’s family requested that memorial contributions be made to Dayton Children’s Hospital. Braden’s small body was buried in a bright red casket at the Dayton Memorial Park. His granite stone features a small photo of the boy and reads: “In loving memory of Braden Dwayne Lee Ferguson, March 27th, 2014 to February 14th, 2017.” Various decorations have been added over the years by family members who remember the happy-go-lucky little boy. These include more photos of Braden, decorative stones, Valentine’s Day decorations, a Christmas tree, and later a handmade wreath saying “I got Justice 4-6-18.”

On December 11th, 2017, the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office held the 27th Annual Homicide Victim Memorial Service at the Westminster Presbyterian Church. Members of Braden’s family attended wearing shirts with his photo on them and others with a blue ribbon that read “Justice for Braden.” The service included a presentation of ornaments honoring victims, which were placed on a Christmas tree. That year, Braden’s ornament joined the rest, just one among far too many others.

The death of this cheerful little boy has not been forgotten, and he has left behind a legacy that will hopefully help save other children. Braden’s photo has been highlighted on a billboard for National Child Abuse Prevention Month with a hotline number to call to report child abuse. Over Braden’s picture are the words: “I was only two.” The billboard sums it up perfectly and tragically: It shouldn’t hurt to be a child.