A four-year-old boy was beaten to death by his mother’s boyfriend because he got in his way when he was playing a video game. Continue reading after the jump.
Sean Stalwart, 34, from Illinois, was charged with first-degree murder for the death of Jeremiah Bradford last September.
Stalwart told his cellmate that he beat the boy so severely he died from internal bleeding because he wanted to ‘toughen him up’, after he got in his way while he was playing computer.
The boy’s mother Patricia Cage, has also been charged with with first-degree murder for covering up the beating and failing to get the child medical attention, despite a neighbour Her trial is pending.
Prosecutors claim that instead, the couple drove to McDonalds for dinner and then took the boy back home again. Jeremiah continued to vomit through the night.
It was only the next morning that they took the four-year-old to the hospital but he died on the way due to internal bleeding.
Authorities say Jeremiah could have survived if he’d been admitted to the hospital right away, according to the Riverfront Times.
Prosecutors said that through the night, Jeremiah lost about half the blood in his body.
Stalwart initially told investigators that Jeremiah hurt himself by jumping off the couch. But an autopsy revealed that the blows were so severe they caused damage to some of the tissue in the child’s digestive system.
Five sets of the boy’s soiled clothing were also recovered from his home.
Stalwart this week pleaded guilty to first degree murder and it is thought he may face 48 years in prison, which he must serve.
Cage and Stalwart’s baby – which they had together since Jeremiah died – is now in the custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Jermiah’s grandfather said that his grandson was due to go to soccer parctice that day, according to the Riverfront Times.
Mr Bradford said: ‘I was looking forward to that Saturday to watch him play soccer. I thought I was going to watch him play soccer, but instead, they called me and told me to go to the hospital. That hit me hard.’
