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The strange new twist in the case of 4-year-old Cash Gernon

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photos by Dallas County Police DepartmentDALLAS – After the kidnapping and murder of 4-year-old Cash Gernon in Dallas last week, neighbor Jose Alvarado checked his surveillance cameras for footage that could help investigators. What he found The video is from 10 weeks before the little Cash died of stab wounds on the floor. But it shows the teen accused of kidnapping him, Darriynn Brown, walking down the street, opening Alvarado’s back gate and peering in before quickly walking away. “It’s really scary,” Alvarado told The Daily Beast. “I have two kids, a girl and a boy, and they play basketball in the backyard.” Alvarado’s house shares a back alley with the home of Monica Sherrod, 35, who looked after Cash and his twin Carter. She said she was with the twins’ father, Trevor Gernon, a 31-year-old construction worker, until he reportedly left town in March when a court ordered him to go to rehab for the next two months – without the knowledge of her mother, Melinda Seagroves, who lives in Houston. Early on the morning of May 15, a young man sneaked into the twins’ bedroom, got some sleeping money from the toddler bed he shared with Carter and went out – a terrifying scene captured by a baby monitor in grainy black and white. Footage obtained from the Daily Mail shows the intruder returning about two hours later and hovering over the bed where Carter slept before leaving abruptly as if scared by something. By then, Cash was dead. Antainain Square, a Dallas teacher who lives in the area, was out on her morning walk around 6:45 am when she saw tufts of hair on the floor. The thought belonged to a dog. “I spoke to my mother on the phone.” Square told The Daily Beast. “As I got closer I could see an arm and a foot and I just started crying and said, ‘Mom, I think I’m coming on a body. ‘And I started:’ Mom, it’s a kid! It is a child! ‘And the baby had blood all over her face. At that point my mom told me to hang up with her and call 911 right away … The baby had ants on its feet. So I knew pretty well that he was gone. “4 year old Slain’s father in Dallas apologizes for leaving KidsSquare. She remembers that she was “in denial” and hoped that Cash was actually just asleep, even though he was obviously dead. “I was just trying to put all kinds of stories together. I had no way of believing anyone would do this to a child, “she said, adding that she stayed with Cash’s body until the police and paramedics arrived so no one would drive over him.” A couple who left out of their garage I had to stop her to let her know this baby was on the floor, ”Square said. More than three hours later, Sherrod reported that Cash was missing. “I got up late the day he went missing and thought it was weird,” Sherrod later told the Daily Mail. “I said, ‘It’s already ten o’clock, guys.’ So I thought Cash was still in bed. ”Cash Gernon was kidnapped from his bed on May 15. Handout Later that day, police arrested 18-year-old Brown, who lives with his parents about half a mile from the spot , on Cash’s body, was found on charges of kidnapping and burglary, but not murder, because police said they were awaiting forensic tests, and instead of bailing him for $ 1.5 million, Brown couldn’t for comment and has no lawyer on court records. His mother, Mimi, has told reporters she believes her son is being framed. A jumble of relationships, criminal records, and an unknown motive hangs over the case. Sherrod, who Mother of several children, has a criminal record that includes assault and DWI.Trevor Gernon, who has an extensive rap sheet, appears to have disappeared; a phone number listed under his name w got separated. Darriynn Brown is reportedly a friend of one of Sherrod’s children and has been seen playing with children in Sherrod’s care. Sherrod first characterized any relationship she or her children had with Brown, who attended the same high school as at least one of the child boys who live in her home, as minimal. She later told a reporter that Brown had visited her house two days before Cash’s murder but was not shopping at the time. According to several neighbors, Brown was definitely not a stranger to the neighborhood. One told The Daily Beast that the teenager regularly played soccer and basketball with some of the children who lived with Sherrod. Others said they saw Brown on their ring surveillance cameras hanging around the area. Little information is known about Seagroves, who now has custody of Carter. Seagroves didn’t respond to multiple interview requests, but her mother, Connie Ward, told The Daily Beast this week, “We’re not ready to make any statement. My family is broken. It was a nightmare to hear and see the news about our baby and tell stories that are wrong. “Seagroves does not appear to have had a violation of the law, but court records show that both Sherrod and Gernon have records that include assault arrests. In 2013, Sherrod pleaded guilty to assaulting her mother, Lezlee Pinkerton. According to an affidavit signed by Officer Glenn Burkheimer-Lubeck of the Harris County Constable’s Office, Sherrod deliberately hit Pinkerton with his hand in the head and chest and pulled her to the ground, then, “Cause[d] Assault “to Pinkerton” by stamping [Pinkerton’s] Toes with your feet. “” The complainant reports that she believes her toes are broken, “the affidavit reads. Sherrod was sentenced to two years of community supervision, participation in a domestic violence treatment program, a $ 100 donation to a family violence center, and a $ 200 fine. In 2018, Gernon was arrested by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office for attacking his father, Roger Gernon, during a dispute over a credit card bill, Texas court records show. When Roger Gernon told his son he was going to call the police, Trevor took the phone away, bled his father’s arm with his fingernails, and poked him in the chest with his elbow. He was charged with assault and disrupting an 911 call, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 68 days in prison. In addition to attacking family members, both Sherrod and Gernon have histories of theft, fraud, and drug possession. Sherrod’s last arrest was for DWI; She also pleaded guilty to identity fraud, meth possession, driving without a license, and theft of misdemeanors. Geron’s most recent arrest was for possession of narcotics in 2020. He was previously charged with possession of methamphetamine in 2016. His rap sheet features Neal Flanagan, co-owner of an anti-corrosion company, told The Daily Beast that he met Gernon in high school and reconnected in 2016. He gave Gernon some work because he was having problems. Then it went sideways. “My ex-wife and I were married at the time,” Flanagan said. “We had problems. She broke up with me in January 2017. Then she and Trevor started seeing each other. “I never saw him after that,” Flanagan said. “A few years later, he wrote to me on Facebook. Like, ‘hey buddy. How you been?’ As if nothing ever happened. “When he was sober, Gernon was’ as good as anyone could want,” said Neal’s father, Johnny Flanagan. But he added that he wasn’t surprised that Gernon took off without his boys. ” He’s one of those guys that way goes the way the wind is blowing, you know, and he’s going to do good for several months and then do bad for several months, and you know, just get up and go, ” said Flanagan. Following his drug abuse charge last November, he failed to appear for a March 29, 2021 hearing, forfeiting a $ 10,000 bond payment. There is now an open arrest warrant against him. His sister posted a YouTube video that recorded an apology from him. In it, he says he left town looking for work and didn’t want to disturb the boys’ routine, so he left them behind. “I paid the ultimate and most painful price for my poor judgment and I have to live with this devastation every day,” he said. “I will never forgive myself. If I could, I would go back and do everything differently. This is a nightmare that won’t go away when I open my eyes in the morning. We just don’t understand how this can happen to such a bright and happy child. “None of the various defense attorneys who have represented Sherrod or Gernon in court have agreed to speak on the basis of the privilege of attorney and client. Cash’s death raised many questions for those responsible for it. But in the neighborhood where he spent his final months, the overarching mystery is why anyone should kill a defenseless child and leave it on the street like trash. Steven Monacelli The solid part of the working class Mountain Creek in Dallas is a quiet place bounded on one side by the 600-acre Cedar Ridge Conservation Area. The houses are in fair condition and the courtyards are clean. On the street where Cash’s body was found, locals stopped at a shrine to leave toys, flowers and other memorabilia. The woman who found Cash’s body has been struggling with her emotions since that morning. “It was difficult. It was really difficult, “Square told The Daily Beast.” I’m 3 years old and as we look at this and process this, I am learning that I have little triggers. If I see a little boy, 4, 3, 5, I’ll cry. It’s just a trigger for me. My own daughter is like a trigger. Sometimes she says something and I cry. “Even though I didn’t know the baby, he was simply robbed of his life. It was really hard. It was really hard to just process this. And no matter how hard you try to keep going, you can’t miss what you saw. “Rohrlich reported from New York and Monacelli from Dallas. Read more at The Daily Beast. Do you have a tip? Submit it to The Daily Beast here. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside delves deeper into the stories that matter to you. Learn more.