Hours before a 3-year-old stopped breathing in St. Paul, his grandmother saw a mark on the side of the boy’s face that wasn’t there earlier.

The boyfriend of the boy’s mother had an explanation: He said Levi Gardet was swinging a cell phone charger and hit himself in the head.

But when Levi’s grandmother asked the boy if that’s what happened, he said, “No.”

Alontae Kaypre Butts, 25, “then interjected and said, ‘Oh, OK, now you’re gonna say you didn’t do it,” according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday charging him with second-degree murder without intent.

On Jan. 15, paramedics brought Levi from his residence on Carroll Avenue, near Oxford Street, to Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.

The boy had bruises all over his body and was in cardiac arrest. Despite attempts to resuscitate him, Levi died a short time later of multiple traumatic injuries.

Police went to Levi’s address and made contact with Butts, who was watching the boy’s 2- and 6-year-old siblings. They took the children to the hospital to be examined.

The 2-year-old girl was found to have a healing scalp laceration and a bruise to her cheek. She had bruising on the side of her abdomen, her liver was lacerated and she was transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit for monitoring.

6-YEAR-OLD BROTHER TELLS OF ABUSE

Levi’s 6-year-old brother was interviewed at Midwest Children’s Resource Center. He was asked if his mother and Butts ever fight.

The child reported that Butts choked his mother, him, his 2-year-old sister and Levi, according to the criminal complaint.

The child also reported that Butts “put his feet” on Levi.

“When asked to demonstrate, (the child) stomped his foot on the floor and said Butts does that to (Levi) when (he) is on the ground,” the complaint continued.

The boy said Butts would put a foot on Levi, punch and choke him. He explained Butts “did that to them when they were bad or wouldn’t stop crying” and “Butts chokes them to knock them out — so they’ll go to sleep,” according to the complaint.

However, Butts told police “he may have accidentally stepped on them once in the middle of the night but that was it; he never stomped on them,” the complaint said.

LEVI BECAME SICK

The children’s grandmother, who lives with the family on Carroll Avenue, told police she arrived home from work on Jan. 14 about 6:30 p.m. and the kids appeared fine. Later, she saw the children laying down and watching a movie with Butts.

The grandmother went to bed about 8:40 p.m. because she had to wake early for work the next day. She said she heard Levi crying for about 5 minutes at some point after she went to bed.

Meanwhile, Levi’s mother, Feleica McAlpine, told police that her son wasn’t sick when she left for work about 6 p.m. on Jan. 14. She got home around 12:25 a.m. on Jan. 15, and she and Butts went grocery shopping.

When they returned, McAlpine noticed the boy had vomited. She went to check on her son and discovered he had fallen into the toilet. McAlpine pulled him out and gave him a bath.

Through the night, Levi said he was thirsty and complained of stomach pain. McAlpine gave him Tylenol, but he threw it up. Butts went to the store to get Gatorade and Levi drank some of it.

McAlpine and her mother later told police they thought the boy’s stomach ache was from something he ate or overeating.

Throughout Jan. 15, Levi was in and out of sleep, his mother reported. About 4 p.m., the boy woke up and said he needed to use the bathroom.

A minute later, Butts told McAlpine “something was wrong” with the boy and she should come to the bathroom, according to the complaint. She found the boy unresponsive on the floor and Butts said he tried CPR. McAlpine called 911.

MAN SAYS ONLY GOD KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED

Butts, who told police he was the three children’s primary caregiver, had no explanation for the injuries to Levi’s face, stomach and back. He said the large mark on the side of the boy’s face wasn’t there early on Jan. 15.

Butts also said Levi had seizures in the past, and he theorized that maybe Levi had one and hit his head on the toilet.

“Butts said no one knows if (Levi) fell and that God was the only one who knows what happened,” according to the complaint. He said the only thing he could think of that would explain Levi and his sister’s injuries “was roughhouse play.”

“Butts was asked if something could have happened when they were wrestling, and he said they could have been playing too rough, and he wondered if he fell on them too hard,” the complaint continued. “… Butts didn’t think (Levi’s) sickness was associated with him falling on the boy.”

Police asked Butts about a full-sized punching bag in the basement, which was on the ground. Butts said Levi and his brother played with it on Jan. 10 or 11. He said it fell on Levi and he didn’t see if it hit his sister, but she was crying when she came upstairs.

When police told Butts he was going to be charged with murder and Levi deserves justice, Butts responded, “I do, too,” according to the complaint.

The autopsy found Levi had brain swelling and his small intestine had been perforated, the complaint said.

Butts made his first court appearance Tuesday, where a judge set his bail at $1 million.

Ramsey County Human Services filed a request in court on Friday for McAlpine’s two other children to be placed in emergency protective care. McAlpine’s attorney said the matter remains under investigation and she had no comment Tuesday.

Sarah Horner contributed to this report.