BOSTON, March 29, 2016—A Roxbury woman was charged today with assaulting 3-year-old Kenai Whyte, who died last month under circumstances that remain under investigation, Suffolk county District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

MARIA BUIE (D.O.B. 7/28/92) was arraigned today on one count of assault and battery on a child causing substantial bodily injury after she surrendered herself to Boston Police. At the request of Assistant District Attorney Craig Iannini, Roxbury Municipal Court Judge David Poole set her bail at $100,000.

Boston Police responded to the Alpine Street home where Buie lives with Whyte’s father on the night of Jan. 31, 2016, and found the child unresponsive and suffering from injuries consistent with physical trauma. He was transported to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased on Feb. 2. The cause and manner of his death is the subject of an active, ongoing investigation by homicide detectives, Suffolk prosecutors, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Jennifer Sears is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Buie is represented by attorney J.W. Carney, Jr. She will return to court on April 28.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.