A premature baby delivered after his mother was left brain dead from a beating will be raised in Denver when he is released from the hospital, perhaps next week, a family member said yesterday.

Sarah M. Fay of the Big Island was pronounced dead Dec. 12 as Josiah Darcy Fay was delivered by Caesarean section at The Queen's Medical Center.

Fay's brother, Michael Fay, arrived in Hawai'i yesterday, saying he and his wife, Carie, will raise Josiah, who remains hospitalized at Kapi'olani Medical Center.

The baby will be ready to leave the hospital once he is able to digest four bottles of formula a day, Fay said.

"Josiah is well on his way to doing everything he needs to do in order to be released from the hospital," he said. "We're encouraged by his progress and eager to bring him home to our family."

Michael Fay's mother is Josiah's legal guardian, but Fay said he and his wife are in the process of legally adopting him.

Sarah Fay, 34, had been kept alive, along with her 7-month-old fetus, following the Nov. 25 beating. She was found unconscious in a house in the rural Fern Acres subdivision.

She remained on life support as her former boyfriend, Marwann Timothy Saad Jackson, 24, was charged with second-degree murder and other charges.