REMEMBERING LEVON

Levon Tyrese Wameling was born on August 31, 2012, in New Hartford, New York. He was the son of Amy Warney and had a sister, Arianna, and a brother, Robert. His obituary also remembered the grandparents, aunts, uncle and other relatives and family friends who were part of his short life. Those who knew Levon remembered him as a happy little boy with a precious smile. Family members described him as deeply loved by his mother and her family. Levon never reached his first birthday.

He was only eight months old when he died, although for months afterward much of the public believed that he was a missing nine month old baby who might still be found alive. While police, volunteers and his family searched and hoped for his return, the truth about what had happened to Levon remained hidden.

LEVON'S STORY

In May 2013, Levon's mother, Amy Warney, was away from home receiving treatment, and Levon was in the care of his father, Jevon Wameling. On May 18, while Amy was away, she saw Levon during a visit and noticed an injury behind his left ear. She told Jevon that Levon needed to be taken to a hospital. According to prosecutors, Jevon later told her that he had taken care of the problem. He had not obtained the medical treatment Levon needed. Jevon later maintained that Levon had injured his head after falling from a sofa. Whatever caused the injury, prosecutors ultimately said they did not have evidence proving that Jevon intentionally inflicted it. What they could establish was that Levon had suffered a significant head injury and that his father failed to get him medical help. On May 29, 2013, Jevon said he found Levon dead in his sleep.  Instead of calling 911, reporting his son's death or seeking help, Jevon concealed what had happened. He placed Levon's body inside a backpack, filled the backpack with rocks and disposed of it in the Mohawk River. Then Levon's disappearance became something else entirely. Nearly two weeks passed before police were told that the baby was missing. On June 11, Jevon told authorities a different story. He claimed that on the night Levon disappeared, he had taken the baby for a walk. According to the account he initially gave police, he accidentally locked himself out of his home, left Levon unattended on the front porch while he climbed through a window and discovered that the baby was gone when he returned. Police immediately found the delay in reporting Levon's disappearance troubling. A massive search began. Investigators searched areas of Utica and surrounding communities. Volunteers helped. Authorities searched a landfill  Levon's photograph was circulated as that of a missing child. The United States Postal Service included him on a missing children poster listing his birth date as August 31, 2012 and his disappearance date as May 29, 2013. His mother publicly pleaded for information. She wanted to know where her baby was. But Levon was not missing. He was already dead. And his father knew where his body had been placed. For months, the search continued. In September 2013, Jevon was arrested on an unrelated burglary charge. He eventually provided information that led authorities to the Mohawk River. On September 6, police divers recovered Levon's remains. His tiny body had been submerged in the river for more than three months. The remains were found inside the weighted backpack. An autopsy revealed that Levon had suffered a skull fracture approximately one inch long. Because of the length of time Levon's body had remained in the river and the condition in which he was recovered, authorities were unable to determine his precise cause of death. But prosecutors could establish something critically important. Levon had suffered a serious head injury. His father knew he was injured. Medical help was not obtained. And after Levon died, his death was concealed rather than reported.

WARNING SIGNS

One of the most painful warning signs in Levon's story came eleven days before he died. On May 18, his mother noticed the injury behind his left ear and told Jevon that Levon needed medical attention. That was an opportunity for Levon to be examined. It was an opportunity for doctors to determine how badly he had been injured. It was an opportunity to help a baby who could not explain what hurt. That opportunity was lost. Jevon later claimed that Levon's head injury resulted from a fall from a sofa. Prosecutors said they could not prove that Jevon intentionally caused the injury. But Jevon ultimately admitted criminal responsibility for something they could prove. He failed to obtain medical care for his injured baby. Levon was eight months old. He could not tell anyone that his head hurt. He could not call for help himself.

He was entirely dependent upon the adult caring for him to recognize that he needed medical attention and get it for him. That did not happen.

JUSTICE FOR LEVON

In November 2013, Jevon Wameling pleaded guilty to second degree manslaughter in connection with Levon's death. The prosecution did not claim it could prove that Jevon intentionally killed his son. Instead, the manslaughter case centered on his failure to obtain medical treatment for Levon's head injury. In court, Jevon also acknowledged that after Levon died, he placed his son's body in a bag and disposed of it in the Mohawk River rather than calling 911. Jevon was sentenced in February 2014 to 7 1/2 to 15 years in state prison. He also received sentences for unrelated burglary and drug conspiracy convictions, which ran concurrently with the manslaughter sentence. He was released on parole on August 31, 2023. That date was Levon's birthday. Levon would have turned 11 years old. In April 2024, Jevon was taken back into custody after violating parole following a new third degree assault charge.

Jevon Wameling

Relationship to Levon: Father

Conviction: Second degree manslaughter

Sentence: 7 1/2 to 15 years in state prison

FOREVER REMEMBERED

For months, people knew Levon as a missing baby. His photograph was distributed. Searches were organized. People looked through neighborhoods and surrounding areas hoping that somewhere, somehow, a little boy who had disappeared in May would be brought home. Levon should have turned one on August 31, 2013. Instead, his first birthday passed while his body remained hidden beneath the water of the Mohawk River. Six days later, he was finally found. When Levon was finally able to be laid to rest, his family held a Mass of the Angels for him at St. Joseph and St. Patrick Church in Utica. His obituary described him as being carried home in the arms of the angels. But Levon's story should not end with the river. There was a little boy before there was a missing child poster. There was a baby with a smile people remembered. There was a son. A brother. A grandson. A nephew. A little boy who was loved. Levon should have received medical care when he was injured. He should have celebrated his first birthday with his family rather than becoming the child they were desperately searching for. He should have grown up alongside Arianna and Robert. He should have had birthdays that required more candles every year. He should have had an entire life beyond May 29, 2013. Abuse Angels remembers Levon Tyrese Wameling, the happy little boy with the precious smile whose life ended before his first birthday. We remember Levon. We speak his name. And Levon Tyrese Wameling will not be forgotten.