The child was assaulted by his mother's boyfriend

Oct 12, 2013 06:50 GMT  ·  By

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has just lost his two-year-old son, who died in a beating yesterday.

The young boy was attacked on Wednesday and succumbed to his injuries on Friday in a hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The death has been confirmed by Lincoln County State's Attorney Tom Wollman. The boy suffered serious injuries and he was put on life support. He passed away at 11:43 a.m. at Sanford USD Medical Center, TMZ reports.

The child had head injuries that were consistent with abuse. He was allegedly assaulted by his mother's boyfriend.

27-year-old Joseph Patterson has been arrested on aggravated assault and aggravated battery charges and he was booked on $750,000 (€550,000) bail.

The press previously assumed that Adrian Peterson Jr. was the deceased child. The father took only two days off from practice to travel to Sioux Falls then returned to the Twin Cities, stating that he would be playing as usual.

City Pages informs that, while AP has only spoken publicly about having a son, Adrian Jr., and a daughter named Adeja, he had a third child.

Neighbors said that AP's son was a secret and the fruit of a casual relationship. Argues Leader mentions that his initials are T.R.R.

“This is a private matter and I would ask you all to please just respect my privacy and not ask at all about the situation at hand,” Peterson said in a statement, mentioning that he would be playing on Sunday.

“God Bless everyone and thank u so much. The NFL is a fraternity of brothers and I am thankful for the tweets, phone calls and text messages from my fellow players. Thank you to my family, my fans and fans of other teams for their support,” he has posted on Twitter.

Patterson was the mother's new boyfriend, Sioux Falls Police Lt. Blaine Larsen informed. He has a history of documented domestic violence, with two women previously seeking restraining orders against him.

One of his ex-girlfriends claimed that he violently spanked her 3-year-old son.