Man charged with homicide in death of 3-year-old boy

3-year-old Aiden Lombardi was pronounced dead Wednesday night, approximately 24-hours after his mother had left him home alone with 25-year-old Tyler Scott Mason for about 15 minutes.

Megan Meyers told investigators that she had known Mason for five years, but had only been in a relationship with him for two months.

At approximately 5:45 pm, she told officers that she left the apartment to drive a friend and her two children to their home.  Aiden had to remain behind because she did not have enough car seats.

She stated that as she was preparing to leave, Aiden had been asleep on the couch, but was waking up as she left.

Shortly before 6 pm, she told officers that Mason called her to say that Aiden would not wake up and that his breathing was shallow.  Minutes later, he called again, this time "hysterical," saying that Aiden was not breathing.  Meyers told him to call 911, but called herself.

Emergency services arrived to the apartment just after 6 pm and immediately noted that there was "significant" bruising to the boy's left ear, as well as other bruises on his forehead, right eyelid and jawline.

According to the criminal complaint, Paramedic Supervisor Marlin Davis informed officers that Aiden was "completely unresponsive and had no pulse the entire time he was with us. He was in cardiac arrest."

Aiden was first taken to Heritage Valley Sewickley Hospital where emergency room doctors determined that he was suffering from a fractured skull and brain bleed.  The doctor that had performed the CT scan confirmed to officers that the injuries had been "intentionally inflicted."

Aiden was then transported to UPMC Children's Hospital in Lawrenceville where he was pronounced dead Wednesday night.

The Medical Examiner's office determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head and the manner was determined to be homicide.

When speaking with investigators, Mason relayed that Aiden had become "fussy" shortly after Meyers had left so to calm him he had given the boy water.  He claimed Aiden remained "fussy and was screaming," so he gave him chocolate milk and then sat across the room from him messaging his sister.

Mason then claimed to notice blood and a chewed french fry near Aiden's mouth at which time he said he noticed the boy was unresponsive and not breathing.  He stated that he performed CPR until the paramedics arrived.

Investigators spoke with neighbors, asking if they had heard anything out of the ordinary.  One neighbor reported to police that they had heard three loud screams between 5 and 6 pm which they had noted because they did not normally heard him scream like that.

Another neighbor told officers that they had heard four loud screams that sounded like a child screaming in pain and then silence.

Mason remains in the Allegheny County Jail and his next court date for this case is unknown at this time.

According to a court records search, Mason appears to have a previous case against him dating back to an arrest on December 25, 2019 which resulted in a charge of aggravated assault by a vehicle while driving under the influence, recklessly endangering another person, careless driving, and other related charges.  He is due in court on March 24, 2021 for that case.