Published: January 29, 2008 12:08 pm      

Mother, boyfriend, suspected of murder of infant

PICAYUNE — A 16 month-old child is reported to have died due to blunt force trauma to the head while in his mother’s care in the first murder case in Picayune since December of 2003.

Sunday at about 5:29 a.m. the mother of the child, Allison Regina Holmes, 23, made a 911 call that her child was not breathing, Picayune Police Chief Jim Luke said. Emergency personnel responded to the apartment, at 700 N. Main St., Apt. 1, where the child, Brandon Stacy, was declared dead, Luke said.

“This is the type of case that nobody wants to work, a child’s death,” Pearl River County Coroner Derek Turnage said. “It’s probably the toughest job emergency personnel would have to work.”

Turnage said preliminary results of the autopsy conducted by Dr. Steven Haynes list the cause of death as closed head injury due to blunt force trauma. The time of death is reported at 1:30 a.m., almost four hours before Holmes made her 911 call. A closed head injury involves an internal injury where there is not an obvious, or open, wound, Turnage said.

Luke said an autopsy was ordered because of some unspecified evidence found at the scene that lead to speculation of foul play. When asked for details about the evidence found at the scene or injuries Stacy had suffered, Luke said he could disclose any further information because the case is still under investigation.

The investigation is under the command of Capt. Holly Krantz, which lead to murder charges being placed against Holmes and her boyfriend, Kelly Lee Bonomo, 24, also of 700 Main St., Apt. 1. The baby was not believed to be Bonomo’s child, Luke said.

Krantz said that when responders arrived, Holmes and Bonomo were the only people present. Holmes is not known to have any other children. Neither of the suspects is known to have any prior convictions, Krantz said. Contraband or illegal substances were not found on scene, either.

When asked, Krantz would not comment on whether the scene displayed signs of a struggle, but Luke did say the child was found in the living room downstairs.

“It’s sad anytime a child loses their life especially in these suspected violent circumstances,” Luke said.