Keaton Boggs: West Virginia boy, 5, dies after suffering brain bleed and mutilated genitals, 3 relatives held
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA: A five-year-old boy died after allegedly suffering torture and severe abuse at the hands of his relatives. The Sun reported that Keaton Boggs’ paternal grandmother, his aunt, and uncle allegedly caused a horrific brain bleed and mutilated his genitals before blaming him for the injuries. The minor lost his life in March 2020 and his family is now set to face separate trials into his death in West Virginia.
It has been reported that Keaton suffered bleeding on his brain and to his eyes, bruising all over his body, and ear trauma, which resulted in his tragic death on March 20 last year. Besides, evidence of a laceration to his penile shaft and injuries to his testicles and inner thigh were also found on the little boy, while his brain injuries were irrevocable, according to the doctors who attended him before his death.
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In connection to his shocking death, Keaton’s grandmother identified as Michelle Boggs, 49, and her daughter and son-in-law Chasity and Peter Wodzinski, 29 and 32, were charged with felony death of a child by parent, guardian or custodian or other person by child abuse. However, the suspects pleaded not guilty and put the blame on the victim for his injuries. Not just that, they also attempted to hide injury marks of the boy by using makeup, prosecutors claimed. As per reports, the trio who lived in the same house started taking care of the child after his father died in June 2019. Police have found images and text messages from Michelle and her daughter’s cell phone, which they will reportedly use as evidence to prove Keaton was abused for an extended period of time before he died.
As per reports, Peter will be tried first on March 1 while the trials for the women suspects are expected to take place on March 29 and April 19. If found guilty, all of them will face 15 years to life behind bars. This comes after an earlier report stated that Michelle told the victim’s mother - Jessika Bishop-Holt - that she would never see her son again a few days before he died. At the time of Keaton’s death, his mother was waiting for a reunion with him after losing custody of him to his grandmother because of her problems with drug abuse, but had been sober for a year when she tried to reconcile.
But the reunion attempt was blocked by the accused, Jessika's mother Patty Holt claimed. Explaining her daughter’s ordeal on Facebook, Patty asked friends and family to pray for Jessika during this difficult time. “You know Michelle Boggs you told me my daughter would never get her son so I guess you were right. God says we must forgive and I know that is the right thing to do but I will continue to pray for God to help me because I have forgiven all in my past but this is really hard... God please help me. My heart is numb and I pray so hard for my daughter that is not gonna be able to give him that big hug that she has longed to do,” she said.
Patty also shared another, now-deleted post, where she posted a photo of Keaton that was taken just a few weeks before his death at his fifth birthday party that showed him covered in bruises. "I just want everyone that was this child's birthday party to get on your knees and asked God to forgive you form your silence when you see a child this bruised up," she added.