HOUSTON -- A man was charged with capital murder in connection with the death of a 3-year-old autistic child, KPRC Local 2 reported Thursday.

Conroe police said Chase Cannon, 27, killed his girlfriend's son, Ethan Kirby.

Investigators said one week ago, Conroe police received a call from Memorial Hermann Hospital about Kirby.

"They told us that we had a case of a child that had suffered injuries, possibly a form of child abuse," said Sgt. Bob Berry, a Conroe police spokesman.

Ethan died early Saturday.

An autopsy showed he had been hit in the back of the head. He suffered a broken left arm, bruises and what appeared to be burns to the bottom of his feet.

"We have information that the child could not communicate other than by gestures. That would also hinder the child telling anybody about any injuries. So, we believe, based on the evidence, that the child had received injuries over a period of time because of the multiple bruises with multiple stages of healing," Berry said.

A patrol officer spotted Cannon and his car coming off Interstate 45 Wednesday afternoon. He stopped and arrested Cannon.

Cannon is jailed without bond.