As an investigation into the suspicious death of a 4-year-old boy in Central New York led to the child's father to face charges Wednesday, Spectrum News 1 had an opportunity to speak with MacKenzie Brown, the young boy's mother, about the tragic case. 

“He really loves dinosaurs, and he was so funny," Brown recalled of her son. "He was a really good kid. I loved him so much.” 

That's how Brown described her son Rykelan, who died on May 29. On Tuesday, Rykelan’s dad, Joshua Emmons, 26, was arrested in connection with his death. 

Brown is devastated and mourning her loss. 

“I was trying so hard for my kid. I went to rehab and did everything I needed to do," said Brown. 

Emmons was arraigned in Syracuse City Court Wednesday morning, charged with first-degree manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child. 

“They told me that there was many different bruises and many different stages of healing, so that was abuse," MacKenzie Brown said. 

Emmons initially told officials the child fell down some stairs, but after months of looking at evidence, authorities arrested the father.

“We were waiting for the medical examiner's office to do their testing, to rule out any other potential way this child could have passed away," said Onondaga County Sheriff Toby Shelley. "Once that was ruled out and the medical examiner ruled it was a homicide, that’s when we picked up Mr. Emmons.”

In the courtroom on Wednesday, prosecutors said Emmonds was found hiding in his basement under the stairs with a blanket covering him. Feet away from him in the court was Brown, holding a box of her son's ashes and wearing a necklace of his fingerprint around her neck.

“Just seeking justice for him," Brown said. "I’m gonna bring him to every single court date because he deserves it.”

The preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday in the town of DeWitt. Emmons bail was set at $250,000. 

According to the prosecution, Emmons was also arrested for endangering a child in 2019.