It was a tragic ending to an even more tragic incident. It has been reported that the 2-year-old son of Vikings football star, Adrian Peterson, has passed away after sustaining a beating from his mother’s boyfriend.

27-year-old, Joseph Robert Patterson, who has been dating the child’s mother, is in jail on a $750,000 bail. He is facing charges of aggravated assault and aggravated battery on an infant. If charged, he could face 40 years in prison and an $80,000 fine.

According to CNN, Patterson called the police at approximately 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday to report a child was choking in his Sioux Falls apartment. After the child was rushed to the hospital and examined, it was determined that he had sustained damage to his head that was consistent with abuse.

“This is an absolute tragedy,” South Dakota, State’s Attorney Tom Wollman said on Friday, “and the parents and the extended family are suffering greatly.”

Peterson did not elaborate on the situation, but did say, “I want to start off by saying I really appreciate all the support that I’ve been receiving from fans, the Vikings organization. This is a private matter and I would ask y’all to please just respect my privacy and not ask at all about the situation at hand.”

He also took to Twitter to thank all of his family, friends, and fellow players for their support during this difficult time.

Thank you to my family, my fans and fans of other teams for their support.

— Adrian Peterson (@AdrianPeterson) October 11, 2013

The NFL is a fraternity of brothers and I am thankful for the tweets, phone calls and text messages from my fellow players.

— Adrian Peterson (@AdrianPeterson) October 11, 2013

God Bless everyone and thank u so much.

— Adrian Peterson (@AdrianPeterson) October 11, 2013

Image via Wikimedia Commons