A 20-year-old man pleaded not guilty Monday in connection with the death of a 5-year-old boy whose body was found in or near a trash bin in Panorama City.

Brycson Malik Gaddis was charged last month with one count each of murder and assault on a child causing death involving the boy who was identified by authorities as Elyjah Hearn.

The child’s body was found July 12 in a parking lot in the 8200 block of Van Nuys Boulevard, just south of Roscoe Boulevard. .

A law enforcement source told the Los Angeles Times that the boy suffered “massive injuries,” including a broken jaw, fractured ribs and a lacerated liver. An official cause of the boy’s death has been deferred pending additional investigation, according to records from the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office.

Gaddis was ar

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