Hinckley Man Now Faces Murder Charges In Death Of Girlfriend's Son

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Hinckley man now faces murder charges in the death of his girlfriend's 3-year-old son, whom he's accused of severely beating last week.

Jonathan Michael Loun, 31, is charged with three counts of second-degree murder in the death of Dante Sears, court documents filed in Pine County show.

Sears was taken off life support not long after being hospitalized with injures associated with severe child abuse. The child was supposed to have celebrated his third birthday at the end of last week.

Sears' mother told police that she found her son unresponsive last Tuesday morning after returning home from work.

She also found a note from her boyfriend, which read, in part: "He pissed on me and I snapped. I banged his head on the floor. He's not okay. I'm so sorry."

Emergency crews took Sears to Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, where he was put on life support. It's not clear when the boy died, but a fund was set up to help pay for his funeral expenses over the weekend.

Police arrested Loun on Tuesday in the woods near his sister's home in Hinckley. He had self-inflicted stab wounds on his arms.

In total, Loun now faces six counts in the death of Sears. Along with the murder charges, he's also facing two counts of assault and one count of malicious punishment of a child.