Opening Statements Begin In Trial Of Man Accused In Boy's Beating Death
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The trial is now underway for the man accused in connection with the beating death of an 11-year-old boy in Pittsburgh's Knoxville section last year.
Opening statements began around 1:30 p.m. in the trial of Anthony Bush.
The victim, 11-year-old Donovan McKee, died back on the evening of Feb. 12, 2012.
Bush, 29, the then-boyfriend of the victim's mother, is facing homicide charges in the case.
During a preliminary hearing for Bush last year, a Pittsburgh homicide detective said Bush admitted to beating the boy inside the Knoxville apartment.
Mother Cynthia McKee worked during the day and left her two sons at home with Bush, whom they called "Poppy."
McKee pled guilty for her role in the boy's death last week and will not testify against Bush. But Tuesday in court, police described the bloody scene in the apartment when they arrived and found the unresponsive child, after being beaten for hours with a martial arts stick and metal bar.
According to investigators, Bush told police that he broke three sticks over the boy's head and body, and then told the child to clean up the splinters.
Police officer Angie Lane told the jury as she entered the children's bedroom, she saw "what appeared to be blood on the table, the wall and the bed."
While Donovan McKee was in the living room with paramedics, she realized there was another child, younger, hiding under covers in the bedroom.
He looked out and said "hi."
He said, "I'm OK. I wasn't in the fight. It was between Donovan and Poppy."
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