A toddler has been beaten to death while he tried to defend his mum from her abusive boyfriend, it is claimed.
Two-year-old Jamil ‘JB’ Baskerville Jr was involved in an argument with his mum’s partner, Zachary Tricoche, 24, after she’d bought the ‘wrong’ groceries, a court heard.
It’s alleged that Jamil became upset and tried ‘to step in to intervene’ before Zachary shoved the woman at her home in New Jersey, U.S, The Mirror reports.
This seemed to rattle Zachary, who then punched the kid so hard in the chest that he fell onto a wall and hit his head, prosecutors said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAFky5hnxlc
Allegedly, the boyfriend then told the child to ‘put up his hands’ and fight like a grown man before punching him a second time.
This caused Jamil to hit his head against the wall again and left him with severe injuries to his organs.
Emergency crews arrived at the scene around 11.30pm after JB’s mum called 911, ABC 6 reports.
Police have since released an audio recording of the emergency call, in which the distraught mum describes how her son has ‘bruises on his chest’.
Tragically, he bled to death after his liver was crushed, a medical examiner ruled.
Zachary, from Pennsauken, has now been brought to court on first-degree murder charges following the youngster’s death on August 20.
If found guilty he could face life in prison, without parole.
