27-year old Man charged with killing NFL star’s son

The 27-year-old man that was arrested and indicted for the murder of Minnesota Vikings All-Pro runninb back Adrian Peterson’s son had been in trouble with the law before. Joseph Patterson was officially charged with manslaughter and second degree murder on Friday. He will be arraigned later this week.

CBS affiliate KELO reports the second degree murder charges against Patterson could carry a mandatory life sentence.

Peterson’s 2-year-old son, Tyrese Ruffin, was initially hospitalized with severe head trauma before eventually dying of his injuries. Patterson is being accused of hitting the boy to cause the injuries. He had been arrested in the past year for domestic violence involving the boy and his mother, whom Patterson has been dating. The boys mother had at one time obtained a protective order against Patterson. In that document she stated that Patterson had hit her young son multiple times causing visible markings.

Adrian Peterson hasn’t spoken out about the incident. He had just recently found out that he was the father to the boy and had made plans to visit and meet Tyrese when he received the news about the boys injuries. Peterson was in the Sioux Falls, North Dakota hospital when he heard that his son had died. Peterson received an outpouring of support from his fellow NFL players and football fans.

On The Web:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57608474-504083/adrian-peterson-update-joseph-patterson-s.d-man-charged-with-murder-in-death-of-nfl-stars-son/