SUMMERVILLE — A 27-year-old man is charged with homicide by child abuse in the death of a toddler found covered in blood at his Dovetail Circle home Monday morning, police said.

Summerville police would not detail what evidence links Justin Hillerby to the death of 22-month-old Blaise Preston Spoerl, who was found dead in his crib. Hillerby is the live-in boyfriend of the toddler's mother, Jennifer Spoerl.

On Wednesday, Berkeley County Coroner Glenn Rhoad said an autopsy found trauma to the child, but he declined to discuss specifics.

Police said the investigation is ongoing, and investigators won't discuss whether additional arrests are anticipated. More details may emerge when Hillerby appears for a bond hearing at 10:30 a.m. today.

The toddler's mother has told The Post and Courier there was nothing out of the ordinary until she woke up Monday morning to find the boy dead in his crib. She said she and Hillerby went swimming with the child at the neighborhood pool Sunday in the Weatherstone subdivision.

"It was a normal day, we spent the day at the pool," Spoerl told the newspaper Tuesday. "We ate dinner, put him to bed and when we woke up, he was already passed."

Hillerby told police the child had a bruise on his face and might have fallen while at the pool, a police report says. At dinner that night, the child was falling asleep in his highchair, Hillerby told police, so he put him to bed early.

A roommate of the couple told police that she arrived home that night to find Blaise crying in the living room. Hillerby reportedly told her that he had to put Blaise in a corner because the toddler had spilled his beer, police said.

Jennifer Spoerl wasn't home at the time and didn't return until 1:40 a.m., police said. She reportedly arrived home intoxicated and fussed with her roommates about the rent being late before they went to bed, according to police. Jennifer Spoerl checked on Blaise at 10:40 a.m. Monday and found him dead in the crib, covered in blood, police said.

The boy's 8-year-old sister was at school at the time. The Department of Social Services placed the girl into emergency protective custody Monday morning after her grandparents went to retrieve her from school, police said.

Jennifer Spoerl refused to comment and hung up the phone when contacted by The Post and Courier on Wednesday to clarify her story and discuss the case.

On her MySpace.com page, Spoerl listed her mood Wednesday as "uncomfortable" and stated "Jenny is sick to her stomach." Hillerby set his profile to private and listed his mood as "scared."

Hillerby was arrested Wednesday morning after he went to the Summerville police station for a prearranged interview, police Capt. Jon Rogers said. He was expected to spend the night at the Berkeley County jail.

Hillerby has an arrest record dating to 1999, with charges of disorderly conduct, driving under the influence, public drunkenness, marijuana possession and receiving stolen goods, according to the State Law Enforcement Division. His rap sheet does not indicate if he was convicted of the charges, and the dispositions of those cases could not be determined.

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