Boyfriend charged, denied bail in toddler's death

The story about the death of 22-month-old toddler Blaise Preston Spoerl continues to unfold.

The live-in boyfriend, 27-year-old Justin Hillerby, had been left to watch two children, and in the morning Blaise would be found dead, covered in blood in his crib.

Hillerby was charged later for the toddler's death.

The Post and Courier has been leading the reporting on this, saying today:
Hillerby hit Blaise in the head with his knee — "hard enough," he would later tell police. Hard enough that it threw the boy to the floor, hitting his head. As the child lay there moaning, Hillerby told him to get up.

"Walk it off," he said.

He soon found Blaise stumbling around the house like a "zombie" and put the child in his high chair.

Today Hillerby's bail was denied, and as such, the judge was also dennying his request to go to Blaise's funeral.

Here's how the story has progressed, as seen in The Post and Courier's headlines:

September 17 Toddler's death labeled suspicious
September 17 Mother's boyfriend charged in Summerville toddler's death
September 18 Boyfriend faces charges
September 19 Suspect denied bail

The paper also has a story about how live-in boyfriends are, statistically, one of the most dangerous people children will ever know.

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