Steven Stuart, 35, of Auburn, has been charged with murder more than eight years after 7-year-old Jayden Carlson died in December 2017 from complications tied to severe injuries suffered during an August 2012 assault. Stuart previously served prison time for a
It has been years since Jayden Carlson’s family learned what his body had been carrying from that August 2012 assault—yet the case moved into a new, sharper chapter this week.
Steven Stuart. 35. of Auburn. has been charged with murder in the death of Jayden Carlson. who died in December 2017 after enduring years of medical complications stemming from injuries sustained during the 2012 attack. the Worcester County District Attorney’s office said in a press release. The timeline has stretched across more than eight years between the assault and the murder charge—an interval that now returns to the center of a case that already sent Stuart to prison.
Stuart was previously convicted in 2015 of assault and battery on Jayden after the boy was critically injured at age 2. Prosecutors said he was sentenced to six to eight years in state prison and pleaded guilty before a jury trial began, according to court records.
At the time of the 2012 assault, Stuart was dating Jayden’s biological mother, the Boston Globe reported. Jayden was 2 years old when he was critically injured. The district attorney’s office said the injuries were “severe. life-altering” and that Jayden died five years later at 7 years old from medical complications related to the assault.
A Worcester County grand jury returned the murder indictment. Stuart was arraigned in Worcester Superior Court on June 18, pleaded not guilty, and is being held without bail, court records show.
Defense attorney Nora Leovich told Boston.com that a not guilty plea is “common” at this stage of the proceedings, but declined to comment further. She wrote: “This case is in the early stages. Mr. Stuart is innocent until proven guilty.” Stuart is scheduled to return to court July 20, records show.
Jayden’s mother, Deidre Carlson, is an adoptive parent. In a Facebook post Sunday. she wrote that the indictment brought “mixed emotions.” Carlson said. “As a family we are relieved that he is now behind bars and we pray that the court system keeps him there for a very long time. ” and added. “Please pray for Justice for Jayden.”.
The details of what Jayden endured trace back to the August 2012 incident. Court documents obtained by the Sentinel & Enterprise that are no longer publicly available said responding officers observed bruising on Jayden’s forehead and above his left ear after the incident. The child was unresponsive but breathing and was foaming at the mouth. Court records indicated he could suffer permanent brain damage.
After the assault, Jayden spent years dealing with devastating injuries. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported that he was placed in a pediatric nursing home in Groton and struggled with walking. speaking. and seeing. His adoptive parents told the newspaper that Jayden also suffered seizures triggered by hearing a man’s voice. He required around-the-clock care, took 20 medications, and frequently developed pneumonia. The Telegram reported that although Jayden made some progress during his recovery. his brain eventually stopped sending vital signals to his organs.
Jayden died at UMass Memorial Medical Center, according to his obituary. The obituary described a boy who enjoyed spending time with the Southbridge Fire Department. EMTs. and paramedics. and loved to “play” the piano. He lived in Southbridge and was survived by his parents, Todd and Deidre Carlson, and three brothers.
The sequence of charges now puts those years of medical fallout back on the public record in the form of a murder allegation—turning a conviction for assault and battery into a case that stretches from a critical injury at age 2 to a death at age 7.
Stuart’s arraignment and next court date mark the next step in that long, punishing timeline, as Jayden’s family waits again for the court process to catch up to what they say they lived through since 2012.
Auburn Massachusetts Jayden Carlson Steven Stuart murder charge assault and battery Worcester County District Attorney UMass Memorial Medical Center Nora Leovich