A Round Lake Beach man has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for murdering his girlfriend’s six-year-old child by slamming his head against a wall and headboard.
Tracy D. Thomas Jr., 37, of Round Lake Beach, was charged in March 2022 with three counts of first-degree murder.
The Round Lake Beach Police Department was contacted by medical staff at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville around 4 p.m. on February 21, 2022.
A 6-year-old child had been brought to the emergency room with significant head trauma, police said.
The boy was identified as Jayceon Wright, of North Chicago, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Police officials said officers went to the hospital and spoke with medical staff and the mother of Wright.
The mother, who authorities have not publicly identified, rushed her child to Condell in an Uber after finding Wright unresponsive with significant injuries on the floor of her home in the 1300 block of Melrose Avenue in Round Lake Beach.
The Round Lake Beach Police Department requested assistance from the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center with investigating the case.
Police detectives and investigators from the advocacy center learned Wright was in the home with Thomas — the boyfriend of the child’s mother — just prior to being injured.
Police said the investigation showed the child’s injuries were the result of an “intentional act by the mother’s boyfriend.”
Thomas turned himself in to police in the afternoon of February 24, 2022.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Melinda Lange said in court that Thomas admitted to striking the child’s head against a bed headboard and a wall.
Lange said that two other children were present in the home at the time of the incident.
Wright was on life support at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge after being transferred from Advocate Condell Medical Center.
The boy died on February 25, 2022, at the hospital, according to police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
An obituary for Wright said he was a “loving spirit to be around” and loved to play with his sisters, cousins and “PawPaw” outside at the park.
“Jayceon attended Pleviak School and loved going every day. His favorite things to do at school were going to gym and doing his math work. He expressed wanting to become a police officer when he grew up,” the obituary said.
An autopsy revealed Wright suffered multiple injuries from the assault.
“I’d like to thank the detectives of the Round Lake Beach Police Department and the forensic investigators and victim advocates of the Children’s Advocacy Center for their diligent work in this heartbreaking case,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said at the time of Thomas’ arrest.
Wright’s death came just two months after another child in Lake County, 6-year-old Damari Perry, was found murdered.
“For the second time this year, our county is reeling from the murder of a child. Rage can never justify harm – period. Our office will not hesitate to prosecute parents and caregivers who abuse children. Our office will also continue to advocate for victim’s rights in the legislature and in court, and support policies that address the root causes of crime,” Rinehart said.
Court records show Thomas, who has been held in the Lake County Jail since his arrest, entered into a negotiated plea deal with the state’s attorney’s office on Friday.
He pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder in exchange for a 35-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Thomas, who is awaiting transfer to a state prison, will receive 1,219 days of credit for time served awaiting trial.