Kaimana Larry Dias-Duque was under Arruda's care Oct. 30 when he suffered head injuries. Arruda, 25, was the boyfriend of the boy's mother, Jessica Dias, who was away from the house at the time. The child died Nov. 1 at Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children in Honolulu.

Arruda's attorney, Mark Zenger, said his client was roughhousing with the boy at about 11 a.m. and at one point, as Arruda was swinging the child around by the legs, Kaimana's head hit a coffee table, knocking him unconscious. Since the boy was breathing, Arruda did not seek medical attention, Zenger said.

"He was in shock and afraid, and hoping that the boy would wake up," the attorney said.

When Kaimana's mother came home, she thought her son was sleeping. The boy stopped breathing about 4:30 p.m. and an ambulance was called. He never regained consciousness.

Zenger said the boy had other bruises on his head, besides the most serious one. He said the child may have suffered those on his own.

"This child was an active child. He had been running into cupboards and things," Zenger said.

He described the case as one of the most tragic with which he has been involved.

"My client failed to get medical attention. A fair reading of the medical reports shows that had the child received medical attention earlier, he might have regained consciousness," Zenger said.

Meanwhile, Jessica Dias is pregnant with Arruda's child, with the baby due before the end of the month.

Kaimana's father is Justin Duque. Duque's father, Lawrence Duque of Puhi, said he still cries daily at his grandson's grave.

"I bring his favorite dog and his favorite toy, a battery-powered Jeep," Duque said.

The elder Duque and his girlfriend, Barbara Wilhuack, cared for Kaimana as often as four days a week. He remembers that his grandson would hand him tools while he worked on cars, and would sometimes crawl under the toy Jeep, mimicking his grandfather.

On Oct. 30, the day Kaimana was injured, Duque drove by to pick him up but didn't see a car at the house and thought no one was home. He drove away, an act he regrets to this day.

"My grandson, I cannot have him no more. But he (Arruda) will end up with his own child," he said.