A 13-year-old teenage boy has been detained at a juvenile facility in Ohio following a shocking tragedy where he lost his cool and beat a toddler to death because of a toy.
Heather Banbury, the 23-month-old baby's mom and a neighbor of the teenage boy, found her son bleeding from his nose and mouth with a footprint on his shirt when she returned home. The mother said she left her baby with the teenager, who was not named the by police, to get some food next door.
Banbury told News 5 Cleveland that she instantly felt something was wrong when she saw that the house's lights were turned off. Upon entering the house, the teenager apparently told the mom that her son was asleep.
However, she found her toddler unresponsive and saw the blood and the footprint. When confronted, the 13-year-old said that they were "play fighting" but the toddler hit the teener with a dinosaur toy.
"And he just repeatedly hit Jessie," the mother said. The emergency services unit that arrived on the scene with the cops would not do anything else to save the baby.
Read Also: Teachers in Degrading 'Dash for Cash' Charity Stunt Receive Apology From South Dakota Hockey Team
Like Part of the Family
The teen was hanging out and watching a movie with Banbury and her son and by 8:00 p.m. she went next door to get some food and wasn't gone too long. According to the cops, the boy ran and hid when he was confronted but he was easily found and held under custody.
Banbury said they treated the teenager as a part of the family. She saw the boy grow up before her eyes since she's good friends with his mother. Banbury said that she has never seen any aggression from him. The boy also didn't have any history of disciplinary action with the cops.
According to Banbury's mother, Tammy, they are at a loss for words and still processing what happened. The baby's sister, who is nine years old, is "trying to get through" the tragedy but she is heartbroken, along with the rest of the family.
The police said that it could take weeks before the medical examiner has a full report on the cause of death. They had to detain the teenager until someone files a formal charge.
Detective Chris Colon, who has been in the force for 23 years, said that it's unsettling to handle a case of a child killing another child. He said that the community feels sad for both families and could not believe what happened as well.
Teens Gun Down Another Teen
Meanwhile, in November, Ohio cops also arrested two young boys, ages 12 and 13, in connection with the death of a 14-year-old boy. According to reports, the victim, Sha'Shawn Anderson, had gunshot wounds on his back and was found on the street near a convenience store.
His father, Henry Anderson, said that Sha'Shawn received death threats a few weeks before he was gunned down. He didn't tell his father what this was about but they moved him to a different school as a precaution. Before his death, Sha'Shawn was a football player for the Milkovich Middle School. His father believes that he was well-liked by his team and schoolmates.
Henry also said that the young boys who killed his son will likely remain in prison until they are 21 years old if they won't be charged as adults. He pleaded for those in authority to restore their community by stopping the violence among the youth.
