6-year-old held underwater by stepfather as punishment until he drowned, Florida cops say
.jpg "The child’s stepfather held him under the water in a bathtub until he became unconscious, Florida deputies said. The boy died two days later.")
A 6-year-old boy was beaten, placed in a dog cage and held underwater as punishment leading up to his drowning death in April, Florida deputies said.
Now, his mother and stepfather have been indicted on murder charges.
The Winter Haven couple, guardians of the 6-year-old and other children in their home, called 911 on April 22 after finding the boy unconscious in the bathtub, according to a Sept. 6 release from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
McClatchy News is not identifying the suspects to protect the identity of the minors.
The stepfather told deputies the child had been sent into the bathroom as punishment for “soiling himself,” and then the man waited 20 minutes before checking on the boy, according to the release.
The stepfather found the door locked and had to break into the bathroom, he told deputies. Inside, the child was in the bathtub, face down in the water, deputies said.
The boy died two days later in the hospital.
The child had open wounds and other previous scars, deputies said, and conditions inside the home showed signs of neglect.
There was no electricity or windows in the bathroom and no electricity in the bedrooms where the children slept, deputies said.
The stepfather told investigators he had turned off the breaker for those rooms so the kids would not have electricity, and the doors of the children’s bedrooms locked from the outside, according to the release.
Inside one of the bedrooms, investigators found clothing that had been soiled with urine and feces, and feces was spread on the wall of the bedroom closet, according to the release.
There were also medications prescribed to the 6-year-old that had not been given to him, evident by the number of pills left, deputies said.
In the home’s garage, investigators said they found a dog cage.
“Detectives interviewed the other children in the home, and two of the kids (ages 7 and 10) told them that they were rewarded with candy and food if they participated in ‘beating up’ the victim and putting the victim in the dog cage,” deputies said in the release.
The children also told investigators that the male caretaker would take the 6-year-old “swimming” in the bathroom as punishment and would hold his head underwater, according to the release.
On one occasion, the stepfather held the child’s head underwater until he went unconscious and then performed CPR on him, another child told investigators.
The child told investigators the female caretaker threatened to choke him if he told anyone about the abuse of the 6-year-old, according to the release.
When investigators searched the caretakers’ phones, they found text messages between the couple describing abusing the 6-year-old, including photos and videos of the child in the dog cage, according to the release.
“Couldn’t get him out and honestly don’t want him out,” his mother texted her husband.
“Why can’t you just do it the right way until you can sign him over to (an) agency,” her husband responded.
“I hate him,” she wrote in texts obtained by deputies. “I wanna put him for adoption.”
On Aug. 31, the couple was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse by aggravated battery, aggravated manslaughter of a child, tampering in felony life capital proceeding, child abuse and causing a minor to become delinquent, dependent or needy.
The other children in the home were removed and placed in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families, according to the release.
“We knew early on during this investigation that there was no rational explanation for this young child’s death, and that it was caused by his mother and stepfather,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in the release. “Our hearts break for this young boy’s father.”
Winter Haven is about 50 miles east of Tampa.
This story was originally published September 7, 2023 at 7:22 AM with the headline "6-year-old held underwater by stepfather as punishment until he drowned, Florida cops say."
