Philadelphia Couple Held For Trial In Torture Death Of 3-Year-Old Boy
By Tony Hanson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Witnesses today detailed the horrific murder of a three-year-old Philadelphia boy who was beaten, burned, and tortured for months before he died last summer.
A West Philadelphia couple -- the child's godmother and her boyfriend, who were supposed to be caring for the child while the mother got her life in order -- have been ordered held for trial.
Witnesses have testified that three-year-old Jaquinn Brewton, just over three feet tall and weighing only 32 pounds, had new and healing wounds including bruises, cuts, and burns -- at least one from a blowtorch.
"There really wasn't a part of him that wasn't covered with signs of clear abuse every day," Philadelphia prosecutor Bridget Kirn told KYW Newsradio today.
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In a statement read by the judge, defendant Marcus King (6' 7" tall and 220 pounds) admitted hitting the boy occasionally but told police that co-defendant Nadera Batson was the "enforcer" and beat the boy about every other day for misbehaving.
King's attorney says King wasn't home the day the fatal trauma to the body occurred.
Attorneys for both defendants deny their client inflicted the fatal trauma.
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