Prosecutors say the boy’s mother fatally beat him and his father delayed medical help for hours.
MEDIA, Pa. — Delaware County prosecutors on Friday charged a Chester mother with first-degree murder and the boy’s father with third-degree murder, alleging their 20-month-old son died after repeated abuse and hours without medical care in November last year.
Authorities say the case grew from a months-long homicide investigation into the death of Frank Walton Jr. at the family’s home on Butler Street in Chester. Prosecutors allege Cynthia Robinson, 34, inflicted the fatal injuries and Frank Walton Sr., 58, helped conceal the abuse by keeping the child from getting treatment. The charges also raised new questions about earlier child welfare contacts with the family, prior reports of abuse and whether warning signs were missed before the boy died.
Police were sent to the 900 block of Butler Street just before 11 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2025, after a report of a small child who was unresponsive, in cardiac arrest and possibly suffering from head trauma. When officers arrived, Robinson was trying to perform CPR on the boy, prosecutors said. He was taken to Nemours Children’s Hospital and later pronounced dead. An autopsy later found that he died from blunt force trauma to the head and torso. The next day, investigators said, Robinson told police that one of the child’s siblings had pushed him down the stairs sometime between about 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. But detectives said the explanation did not match the evidence. In announcing the charges, the district attorney’s office said the scenarios Robinson described were “factually impossible,” and prosecutors said the homicide investigation then widened to examine the family’s history, the timeline inside the house and what the adults did before the 911 call was made.
Prosecutors say the physical evidence and witness statements pointed away from an accident and toward a pattern of abuse. A search of the home after the boy’s death turned up blood evidence on a high chair, on steps and in other parts of the residence, according to court records described in local reports. The medical examiner also found many other injuries in different stages of healing, authorities said, and concluded that prompt treatment might have saved the child’s life. Prosecutors say Walton knew the boy had been badly hurt at least seven hours before 911 was called, but did not seek help and instead continued working, including dropping off a trailer at a construction site. District Attorney Tanner Rouse said Friday that the case involved “a mother who beat her son to death and a father who let it happen.” Prosecutors also said the couple’s three other children were in the home when the boy died, that at least two of them had bruises and that all three later tested positive for cocaine. Rouse said the children had been threatened and intimidated into silence.
The charging documents and local reports describe a family already known to police and child welfare authorities before the boy’s death. In February 2023, Chester police responded to an overdose at an earlier home on Upland Street and found Robinson near two young children, according to court records. Investigators later said a pipe was recovered and Robinson was charged with endangering the welfare of children. She later pleaded no contest to that felony charge. The boy who later died was born prematurely on Feb. 10, 2024, according to court documents, and tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl at birth. He was placed in foster care in March 2024. Court records also say Robinson and Walton entered a transitional housing program in January 2025, moved into the Butler Street home in February and regained custody of the boy on May 7, 2025. By then, prosecutors say, the abuse had already become visible. Police were called to the house on Oct. 11, 2025, for a report that the child was having a seizure. A Chester police captain later told investigators he saw bruising around the boy’s eyes, and Robinson said a sibling had caused it. On the day before the child died, a Children and Youth Services caseworker also reported discoloration under his eye, and Robinson allegedly blamed a coffee table.
The charges filed Friday reflect the different roles prosecutors say each parent played. Robinson is charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit third-degree murder, multiple counts of aggravated assault, multiple counts of endangering the welfare of children, reckless endangerment, witness intimidation and related conspiracy offenses. Walton is charged with third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, multiple counts of endangering the welfare of children and related conspiracy and reckless-endangerment counts. Walton was arrested April 15, arraigned and denied bail, and prosecutors said his preliminary hearing is set for April 28. Robinson was taken into custody after a warrant was issued and was awaiting arraignment Friday, with local reports saying that proceeding was expected Monday. Prosecutors said the investigation remains active. The county’s child welfare agency has not publicly explained why the family regained custody, though county spokesperson George Basile said the agency could not comment in detail because the matter is under investigation and would cooperate with the district attorney’s office. As in all criminal cases, the charges are allegations and both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
At a news conference Friday, Rouse said the evidence suggested the abuse was not hidden from view. He said Robinson had made threats about beating the child in front of others and had spoken openly about hurting him. Court records cited by local media say one witness saw the boy bleeding the day before he died and heard Robinson say, “I’m going to hit him now,” before dropping him from her waist. Another person told investigators she had previously seen Robinson beat the toddler and drag him down the stairs. Prosecutors also said Robinson warned one of the child’s sisters not to tell anyone what happened to her brother and to keep secrets about the abuse. Rouse called the allegations “heartbreaking and deeply troubling,” but he also said the case demands a hard look at how a child previously removed from the home ended up dead months after being returned to his parents. His office said the homicide case was built jointly by county detectives and Chester police after investigators retraced the child’s final hours, tested the parents’ account against the injuries and compared it with what witnesses, officers and child welfare records had already documented.
Both defendants remained in custody Saturday, and the next public milestone in the case is Walton’s preliminary hearing on April 28 while Robinson’s arraignment is expected first. Prosecutors have said the criminal investigation is still unfolding, and questions about earlier oversight by child welfare authorities remain under review.
Author note: Last updated April 18, 2026.