Updated: Former USC football player charged in death of 4-year-old

Former South Carolina football player Steven Singleton, who has been arrested on a murder charge, told Georgia police that he found his girlfriend’s 4-year-old son on the floor after hearing “a thump” while in another room, according to Gwinnett County law enforcement officials.

“The mother left her son at his apartment for him to watch while she went back to her house to get ready for an event,” Gwinnett County Cpl. Michele Pihera said. “While Tye was eating in the family room and watching television, that’s when Mr. Singleton said he heard a thumping noise, and he went out to see what was wrong with Tye and he saw him unresponsive.

“The child also soiled his clothes. Mr. Singleton was attempting to take him back in the bathroom and Mr. Singleton said as he was taking him back there he accidently bumped Tye’s head on the bathroom door frame. He said that’s when he noticed a knot on Tye’s head.”

Tye Hardin died Monday after being removed from life support at 3 a.m. at Atlanta’s Scottish Rite Hospital. Singleton was arrested and charged with felony murder and first-degree cruelty to children Wednesday because his version of the events that led to Hardin’s death changed several times during interviews with police and medical personnel, Pihera said.

“A lot of people were asking them and a lot of the stories were not consistent,” she said.

Singleton, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound lineman who played for the Gamecocks in 2009 and 2010, was a four-star prospect coming out of Buford High School in Buford, Ga., and signed with LSU out of high school. He redshirted as a true freshman with the Tigers in 2006 and then signed with Gamecocks in 2009 after two years at Georgia Military College. Singleton did not get on the field for the Gamecocks in 2009 as he bounced between the offensive and defensive lines. He was a reserve offensive lineman in 2010.

South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier was unavailable for comment Thursday, according to a school spokesman.

Singleton, 26, is dating Hardin’s mother, 25-year-old Tierra Green. She left Hardin with Singleton on Saturday.

“After getting ready and driving back to her boyfriend’s apartment, she received a phone call from Singleton about her son,” according to a Gwinnett County Police Department media release. “Singleton told here that something was wrong with Tye and that she needed to hurry up.”

The couple called 911 after Green arrived at Singleton’s home but a bad connection prevented Singleton from being able to communicate clearly, Pihera said.

“Because of the breakdown in communication, Mr. Singleton just said, ‘We will take him ourselves,’ ” Pihera said.

Green and Singleton took Hardin to an urgent care facility, Pihera said. From there, he was transferred to a local hospital by ambulance and then to Scottish Rite by ambulance.

“When he arrived at Scottish Rite, no brain activity was detected,” Pihera said. “They told the mom it was not likely he was going to survive his injuries.”

Officials at Scottish Rite called 911 on Saturday night after the child’s arrival because of the nature of the injuries. Hardin had “a bruise on the right side of his forehead and on his right cheek. He also had bruises on the right side of his chest and under his right arm,” the GCPD media release stated.

Singleton was interviewed by police Saturday night and again Wednesday. He was arrested following the Wednesday interview.

“The detective found that Singleton’s account of events and Tye’s injuries were inconsistent,” the report stated.

This story was originally published April 30, 2015 at 9:19 AM with the headline "Updated: Former USC football player charged in death of 4-year-old."