Intoxicated babysitter’s ‘tremendous abuse’ killed toddler, IL officials say
An 18-month old child died “under unusual circumstances,” leading to the arrest of his babysitter, Illinois officials say.
Amarian D. Billups-Wilson, 18, is charged with murder, among other charges, following the June 29 death of Clylen Ewing, the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a July 1 news release.
The investigation began when Clylen was taken to a hospital unresponsive and without a pulse, the Peoria County Coroner’s Office said. He had injuries “incompatible with life” that were believed to have been caused by another person.
Coroner Jamie Harwood told WMBD the boy’s injuries were to “every portion of his body.”
“While I would like to state that Ewing died instantly, I cannot,” the coroner said in a statement. “He very unfortunately and sadly suffered tremendous abuse.”
An autopsy revealed Clylen had a “contusion on his lung, lacerations on his liver, adrenal gland, kidney, and stomach, two rib fractures and bruising throughout his body,” officials said.
Clylen’s mother said she left her son and three other children in the care of Billups-Wilson the previous night, officials said.
The other kids also showed signs of being physically abused, police said. They were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
“The other children reported witnessing Billups-Wilson strike Clylen multiple times, hit him with shoes and push him down the stairs,” officials said. “Their accounts were consistent with Clylen’s injuries.”
Interviewed by police, the 18-year-old babysitter said he hit Clylen but was unaware how violent he was being “because he was intoxicated,” according to the state’s attorney’s office.
Billups-Wilson was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated battery of a child, police said.
Peoria is about a 170-mile drive southwest from Chicago.
This story was originally published July 2, 2025 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Intoxicated babysitter’s ‘tremendous abuse’ killed toddler, IL officials say."