Child abuse charges have been filed by authorities against a caretaker following the death of a four-year-old boy who was allegedly beaten with a broomstick by his nine-year-old sister in Mobile, Alabama, on February 3, the People Magazine reported. The sister is also facing an assault charge.
According to WTVY News4, Mobile Officers responded to a "medical emergency involving a child" on Jacob Drive. The police arrived to find the little boy "unresponsive inside the residence." Emergency medical technicians pronounced that the boy was "deceased on the scene" when they arrived.
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Caretaker, Nine-year-old Sister facing charges
The child's caretaker and aunt, Yolanda Coale, are charged with aggravated child abuse. Her nine-year-old niece is also facing charges in the tragic case. Coale is expected to face more charges once the autopsy and investigation are complete, authorities said.
The judge set Coale's bail to $150,000. She was also ordered not to contact her niece and submit herself to electronic monitoring.
The court documents revealed that Coale woke up to the sound of screams as the nine-year-old sister was beating her brother to death. It also alleged that the sister willfully tortured, abused, and cruelly beat her four-year-old brother.
A neighbor told NBC15 that the news on the boy's death and Coale's arrest was heartbreaking. They said that the Coales seemed to be a lovely family. They had a lot of kids over their home and were playing all the time. The house, the neighbor said, was clean on the inside, and the kids had nice toys.
"The kids were always dressed nice, so I really don't understand what happened," the neighbor added.
Signs of Child Abuse
Fox 10 News also reported that the police found evidence of child abuse for the four-year-old boy. An investigation is still ongoing; thus, many details remain a mystery. Assistant District Attorney Louis Walker of the Mobile County said that Coale was the victim's aunt, but how the boy came to her custody was unclear. The cause of death is also still uncertain, as investigators are still waiting for the autopsy result.
Coale has no criminal history except for an arrest in 2005 for giving alcohol to a minor.
According to Child Advocacy Center of Mobile executive director Andy Wynne, child abuse like this case happens more frequently than "people want to think about." He also said that the perpetrator is mostly at their breaking point when child abuse happens.
Wynne added that his organization handles around 500 sexual and physical abuse cases per year. He also emphasized that the cases they handle are only a fraction as not all abuses are reported to them. He further encouraged communities to report child abuse to law enforcement agencies if wrongdoing is suspected.
Child abuse, according to Wynne, is the most underreported crime in the country. He said that only 10-25 percent of abused kids are reported.
He added that only the high profile, the real tragedies are brought forward. Most kids that are abused are suffering in silence.
