NJ man charged with murdering his 4-year-old son

​​⭕ NJ child death ruled homicide
⭕ Dad arrested year later
⭕ Medical staff say child was emaciated

A 36-year-old Middlesex County man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of his own 4-year-old son in Somerset County a year ago.

Sean Tate, of Woodbridge, was also charged on Tuesday with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

The boy died on Feb. 19, 2024, two hours after being rushed to a local hospital from a Franklin Township hotel.

Tate had called police around 3:24 p.m., saying his young child was unresponsive.

When officers arrived, the man said that the boy had suffered at least two prior injuries — falling off a toilet, and hitting his head on an air conditioning unit before that.

Tate said he had iced the boy’s injury before going to bed, and that when he woke up, the child was unresponsive.

The boy was pronounced dead at 5:24 p.m.

Medical personnel reported that the child was emaciated and appeared to have suffered multiple injuries.

Read More: NJ dad who tortured ‘fat’ son on treadmill guilty of manslaughter 

Detectives from both the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and the Franklin Township Police Department investigated the death and an autopsy was done by the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.

On Feb. 4, the child’s manner of death was ruled a homicide and Tate was arrested two weeks later.

As of Thursday, he was being held at the Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing.

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