Haney Found Guilty In 4-Year-Old Fayette Co. Boy's Beating Death
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The jury has found Patrick Haney guilty in the case of a beating death of a child in Fayette County.
Prosecutors say Haney regularly beat 4-year-old Trenton St. Clair and had an excuse for every bruise.
On Monday, the child's mother, Heather Forsythe, testified against Haney after reaching a plea bargain. There will be no homicide charges for her after pleading guilty to reckless endangerment charges and she will face two-and-a-half to five years in jail.
Three days before he died, Forsythe described seeing Haney abusing the child.
"He was standing over my child," she said. "I saw him hitting and slapping my child and he kicked him with the side of his foot. Trenton was crying."
She testified she told authorities he fell at the urging of Haney.
"I told police he fell down the steps in hopes I'd be taken somewhere else. I told them I wanted to be separated from Patrick."
But the 4-year-old was pronounced dead at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. Later Forsythe told police Haney abused the boy.
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