Stepmother charged with beating Roxbury toddler to death

A woman already charged with beating a 3-year-old who later died is now accused of second-degree murder for the Roxbury boy's death, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

A Suffolk County grand jury returned the indictment against Maria Buie, 23, today, the DA's office says. If found guilty for the murder of Kenai Whyte, she would face life in prison, but with the possibility of parole after 15 years.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the child's death was a homicide caused by blunt force trauma. An extensive factual investigation by Boston Police homicide detectives developed evidence and witness statements suggesting that only Buie was alone with the child after others present in the home observed him to be healthy and uninjured.

In a statement, DA Dan Conley said investigators suspected early on that Buie beat the boy to death after first responders found him around 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 31 at 23 Alpine St.

We could not always share our progress with the public because doing so could have harmed the investigation. But we never lost sight of the devastating tragedy Kenai’s loving family suffered in his death, or our fundamental duty to speak for the tiny, innocent boy whose life was taken.

Innocent, etc.