A 26-year-old Long Island man has been charged with second-degree murder for allegedly killing his girlfriend's 17-month-old son, whom he had been watching on and off for the last several months.
Lord Pardo, of Uniondale, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday. His attorney, Meir Moza, vehemently denied the allegations.
Police said Pardo's girlfriend had left her son, Mason Robinson, in Pardo's care when she went to work Sunday. The boy was taken to a hospital, where authorities found he had suffered a lacerated liver and lungs and fractured skull and ribs. Prosecutors said the injuries came from multiple blows.
Moza called Robinson's death a tragic accident. He said the child was jumping on a bed when he fell and was injured.
Pardo, who has a 3-week-old daughter, has no criminal record and there is no record of any domestic incidents involving him and his girlfriend, according to authorities.
Pardo was held on $20 million bond.
