Caretaker Pleads Not Guilty To Charges Of Abusing 4-Year-Old Myls Dobson

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A caretaker pleaded not guilty to charges Wednesday that she abused Myls Dobson, the 4-year-old boy who died in Midtown last month.

In a barely audible voice, Kryzie King pleaded not guilty Wednesday to assaulting and endangering Myls, whose death prompted the mayor to order reforms to the city's child welfare agency.

While there's no official ruling on whether the boy's death was a homicide, ``all of the evidence suggests that Myls Dobson's death was caused by this defendant,'' Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg told a judge.

``When the defendant took custody of Myls Dobson, he was a happy, healthy and well-nourished little boy,'' Blumberg said. But when he was found unconscious in King's apartment Jan. 8, she said, ``his lifeless body was bruised, burned and cut from head to toe.''

During about three weeks of caring for Myls, King seared his leg with a hot oven rack, bound him with shoelaces, beat him with a belt buckle while he tried to hide under the bed, locked him outside on a freezing balcony for up to an hour and watched him starve, losing 10 to 20 pounds, before she called 911 on Jan. 8 saying he'd been hurt in a fall, prosecutors said. She admitted the abuse and said the boy had misbehaved, they said.

Blumberg said the Medical Examiner's findings are expected within about a month. A medical examiners' office spokeswoman wouldn't say what test or questions are pending.

Defense lawyer Bryan Konoski said it was too soon to draw conclusions about the case.

``At this point, my client is presumed innocent,'' said Konoski, who is seeking a psychiatric examination of King, 27.

Myls' father, Okee Wade, was arrested in December on bank fraud allegations – leaving Myls in the care of King, his father's girlfriend.

King told police she had put the boy on the bathroom counter and left the room briefly on Jan. 8. Police said King told them Dobson fell and landed in the empty bathtub in her Midtown apartment.

King pleaded not guilty to 12 counts – including charges of felony assault, child endangerment, DNAInfo reported. She was arrested last month.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office said evidence suggests King killed Myls, and prosecutors will likely pursue a murder charge if his death is ruled a homicide.

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