Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Police: Father accused of murder threw baby in playpen

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Keshawn Doucet

Stressed out about the constant cries of his baby, Keshawn Doucet grabbed the 3-month-old by the legs and threw him in a playpen, according to a Metro Police arrest report.

And when Doucet, 22, found baby Gage unresponsive hours later on Tuesday, he placed his little foot under water “hot enough where he couldn’t keep his hands under” for a couple of seconds to see if he’d respond, police said.

Medical crews arrived about 12:45 p.m. to the apartment in the 5200 block of Nellis Oasis Lane, near Nellis Boulevard and Cheyenne Avenue, and found that Gage had already died, police said.

Gage’s mother, Doucet’s live-in girlfriend, had gone to work and left Gage and their toddler under Doucet’s care, police said.

Doucet initially told police that he didn’t know how the baby may have been injured and detailed a timeline of events from when he got home from work late Monday until he found him unresponsive, according to the report.

He said he’d smoked marijuana, drank a beer, fed and changed Gage’s diaper about 7 a.m. and found the baby unresponsive about 12:30 p.m. when Doucet said he had woken up, police said. In the same interview, Doucet told detectives “the situation now having two kids has been hectic and stressful.”

In another interview immediately after repeating the same story during a live reenactment at the apartment, Doucet said the stress about the crying had turned into frustration about 7 a.m.

Two hours later, Doucet told detectives, Gage continued to cry so he lifted him out of the playpen by his legs and threw him back down, according to the report. He further said he may have squeezed his head.

Doucet said he left Gage crying and the playpen and went back to sleep, according to the report. When he found him unconscious, he panicked and placed the baby’s foot under the hot water, police said.

Doucet was arrested and booked without bail at the Clark County Detention Center on one count each of murder, and child abuse and neglect, jail logs show. He’s next scheduled to appear in court on March 27.