July 10, 2008, 2:25AM

By MIKE GLENN
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

A northeast Harris County man was arrested Wednesday after he was charged with capital murder in the death last year of his 2-year-old son.

Darius Smith told emergency operators Oct. 27 his son, Zion, had collapsed in the apartment where the child lived with his mother, authorities said. Zion died shortly after he arrived at the hospital, Harris County sheriff's detectives said.

Detectives questioned Smith and grew suspicious about his account of what happened inside the apartment in the 500 block of Normandy.

"He claimed that (Zion) threw himself on the ground in a fit," Harris County sheriff's Sgt. Rolf Nelson said.

But there was no indication Zion suffered any external injuries, detectives said.

"The physical evidence didn't match up," Nelson said.

An autopsy revealed that Zion's death was caused by severe trauma to his brain. The injuries were consistent with cases of so-called "shaken baby syndrome," Nelson said.

"There's nothing on the outside to indicate blunt force trauma," Nelson said.

Smith, who lives about two miles from the apartment, was watching Zion while his mother was at work. On Wednesday, she could not be reached for comment.

Nelson said they waited to seek a capital murder charge against Smith until they built a solid case against him — including receiving the report from Harris County medical examiners that ruled Zion's death a homicide.

Detectives said Smith's other son, Marco, 5 months, died in December 2006, also while in his care. They took a second look at the incident while investigating Zion's death.

"There was nothing there that we could run with," Nelson said.

Smith was taken into custody about 8 a.m. Wednesday at a local pet store.

The 24-year-old is being held without bail at the Harris County Jail.

mike.glenn@chron.com

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5879377.html

Emphasis added by H4K Editor