Two people have been charged with murder after the death of a child in Thornton Heath in October.

Kyrell Matthews was just two years old when he was found at an address in Thornton Heath in cardiac arrest, a heart attack.

Police subsequently said that two people, namely Phylesia Shirley, 23, of Bensham Manor Road, and Kemar Brown, 27, of Grange Park Road, CR7 had been charged “with murder and causing or allowing the death of a child” on Monday, December 7.

The pair are detained at present and will appear virtually from custody at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, December 8.

This Is Local London: Kyrell Matthews. Image via Met PoliceKyrell Matthews. Image via Met Police

“Police began an investigation after the death of a two-year-old child who was found in cardiac arrest at a house in Thornton Heath on 20 October 2019.

“He was subsequently identified as Kyrell Matthews,” a spokesperson for the Met Police said, describing the tragic case.

The second crimes they were charged with came under Section 5 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 (DVCVA 2004), which created the offence of causing or allowing the death a child or vulnerable adult.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS):

The offence is levelled where evidence exists to establish elements including whether “a child or vulnerable adult has died or suffered serious physical harm.”