The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG – Waitsburg resident Tysen R. Beckner, 25, was arrested last week in Idaho and now faces a felony charge of child assault in Walla Walla County Superior Court.

Beckner was allegedly involved in a fight at the new Whiskey Creek Bar and Grill in Waitsburg on the night of June 17 during which his girlfriend, Waitsburg resident Shaylynn M. Johnson, was arrested on a warrant, according to court documents. According to relatives, Beckner was left in charge of two young children in the home overnight.

The following day, June 18, medics were called to the apartment shared by Beckner and Johnson on Coppei Street after a family member, who stopped to check on the children, observed “horrific” multiple bruises on the 4-year-old boy’s head, face, neck, shoulder, back, torso, legs and arms, according to the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office report.

The report also stated that an infant was in the home as well but was not reported to have any injuries.

The older child was examined by x-ray and MRI; final results are pending, according to court documents. The child was able to provide a verbal statement to a detective, however, and reported that Tysen had thrown the boy against a coffee table because he hadn’t eaten his dinner, according to the report. Tysen may also have put the child’s head in the toilet, the report stated.

Bite marks were reportedly found on the boy’s body upon further examination, and a rape kit was ordered as well, the documents state. Based on the child’s level of injuries and the medication he was given for pain, no further details were gathered at the time.

The Walla Walla County Prosecutor’s Office has accused Beckner of assault of a child in the first degree – domestic violence, a Class A felony with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Beckner was arrested in Nez Perce County, Idaho, and currently awaits extradition to Walla Walla County for prosecution.