Father charged in connection with death of 3-year-old who fell out of 11th-story apartment window

ST. LOUIS (KMOV/Gray News) — The father of a 3-year-old boy who died after falling out of an apartment complex window in St. Louis has been charged.

On Tuesday, Tarvis Phenix Jr., 26, was charged with one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death.

The charges are in connection with the death of his 3-year-old son, Tarvis Phenix III, on April 10.

St. Louis police said the child, known by his nickname T-3, fell from an 11^th-floor window at Parkview Apartments early that morning.

Police said officers were first called to the apartment for a missing child. They said T-3’s father left the apartment to smoke a cigarette, and when he returned, the child was missing.

According to court documents, on April 9, Phenix left his 11th-floor apartment at 11:52 p.m., took the elevator to the first floor and left the building.

At around 12:36 a.m., the child left the apartment alone and wandered on the 11th floor, including into the elevator lobby, which had two open windows with benches underneath.

The boy climbed onto a bench, looked out one of the windows, climbed onto the window ledge and fell out.

Court documents said there is a straight drop from the window to the concrete below.

Court documents show Phenix returned to his apartment at 12:53 a.m., an hour after he had left.

Andrea Armour, T-3’s great aunt, said the tragedy happened at her apartment.

“It was my apartment; I wasn’t at home. It was my apartment, where they were at. They were visiting me,” Armour said.

Although Armour said she was not at home at the time, the child’s father has a spare key since he often comes to check on her due to her health issues.

She said the apartment has several safety concerns that she has reported in the past.

“These hallway windows, they stay open, they don’t lock, there’s no screen, none of that,” Armour said.

The property is owned by the St. Louis Housing Authority, which is conducting its own investigation, as well as city police.

Family members gathered to remember T-3’s life and to host a balloon release.

“It’s a hurting feeling,” Armour said. “It hurts me because I have to go and look down on another loved one, this is... this is my baby.”