Quantcast

Uniondale Man Charged in 17-month-old’s Death

A 26-year-old Uniondale man described as a soulless “monster” was charged in the murder of his girlfriend’s 17-month-old child over Columbus Day weekend, Nassau County authorities said.

Lord Pardo was ordered held on $20 million bond or $10 million cash at his arraignment Tuesday at First District Court in Hempstead. He was charged with second-degree murder for the child’s death on Sunday.

“It’s clear that the defendant has no soul,” acting Nassau County Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter said Tuesday during a press conference at police headquarters in Mineola. “He’s truly a monster.”

Pardo, who emigrated from Haiti in 2009 and has no prior arrest record, is not the father of the child, but he was watching the tot because the mother was working at Whole Foods in Jericho.

The tragic incident occurred during the afternoon as Pardo cared for the boy, Mason Robinson, and his own three-week-old daughter, authorities said. He’s cared for the child between six to eight times in the past four months, officials said.

At 1:40 p.m., Pardo notified Robinson’s mother via text message that the child had “difficulty breathing,” officials said. That’s when the woman asked Pardo to bring the child to Whole Foods, which he did, according to his defense attorney Meir Moza. The child was then taken to North Shore LIJ Hospital in Syosset, where he was pronounced dead at 2:57 p.m., police said.

During Pardo’s arraignment, Assistant District Attorney Jessica Cepriano said Robinson sustained a fractured rib, collapsed lung, lacerated liver, lacerated diaphragm, fractured skull, and massive internal injuries.

“This was no accident,” acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said. “This baby was severely beaten and those injuries caused his death.

“Nothing is more despicable than the murder of a child,” added Singas.

Pardo’s defense attorney said the evidence does not point to his client willfully injuring the child.

Moza said the second-degree murder charge is an example of the district attorney’s office “overreaching,” adding that the facts would prove that.

Pardo has no reason to harm the child, the attorney said.

“For me to believe that someone is just going to harm a baby out of nowhere, it just seems farfetched,” Moza told the Press.

The attorney suggested that the injuries could’ve been caused by “negligence supervision,” but his client never intended to physically assault the child.

“I don’t think that the evidence will be sustainable,” Moza said.

When told of Moza’s remarks during Pardo’s arraignment, Krumpter said the “charges are consistent with the injuries the baby suffered.”

The injuries, he said, are “inconsistent with an accident.”

Authorities said Nassau County Child Protective Services has never investigated a case involving Pardo.