FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Brooklyn Mother and Boyfriend Indicted for Murder of
Three-Year-Old Boy who was Beaten and Starved
Medical Examiner Determined Alleged Cause of Death was Child Abuse
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a man and woman have been named in an indictment charging them with murder and other crimes in connection with the death of her three-year-old son Kyng Davis, whose alleged cause of death was child abuse, including blunt force trauma and neglect, with starvation and dehydration.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This innocent child allegedly suffered day after day, denied the most basic care and compassion. Instead of safeguarding Kyng Davis, the defendants are accused of inflicting the very harm that led to his death. We will vigorously prosecute this case to secure justice for Kyng and ensure accountability for this devastating tragedy.”
The District Attorney identified the defendants as Robert White, 39, and Sunshyne Davis, 25, both of whom were living in White’s car at the time of her son’s death. Davis was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Donald Leo on an indictment charging them with second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, and endangering the welfare of a child. Davis was ordered held without bail and to return to court on July 31, 2026. White will be arraigned at a later date. He was remanded in March 2025 following his arrest for second-degree assault for allegedly repeatedly striking the child to his face.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on March 9, 2025, at approximately 11:25 a.m., the defendants allegedly dropped Kyng Davis’ body at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in East Flatbush. After Davis spoke to the medical staff, the pair left the hospital and drove away. After an autopsy, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the child’s death to be child abuse, which included blunt force trauma and neglect with starvation and dehydration.
The indictment supersedes the earlier charge of second-degree assault against White for allegedly repeatedly striking the child in the face on February 22, 2025, after he urinated on himself.
The District Attorney thanked Digital Evidence Lab Analyst Anna Kharitonova, Homicide Paralegal Julia Holman, formerly with the Special Victims Bureau, and Victim Services Unit Social Worker Taylor Asciutto for their work on the case.
The investigation was conducted by New York City Police Department Detectives Philip Luongo of the 67th Squad and Yaqube Algabyali of the Brooklyn South Homicide Squad.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Perry Cerrato, Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau, and Senior Assistant District Attorney Pious Ahuja, also of the SVB, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Miss Gregory, Bureau Chief.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
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