Montana 12-year-old beaten and tortured to death by grandparents and 14-year-old uncle, videos show: Police
The grandparents and an uncle of a young 12-year-old boy have been charged in connection with his death, the authorities have revealed.
The police say they have found evidence of them torturing the child. According to videos found by the police, a pattern of abuse that included forced exercise and physical abuse could be seen, court documents reveal.
The boy, James Alex Hurley was living with his grandparents, James Sasser Jr. and Patricia Batts for two years. The couple's children also lived in the same including their son Hurley's 14-year-old uncle. The uncle is being charged as a minor.
Detectives also discovered a video from two years ago where Hurley "appeared to be a healthy and well-fed boy". However, at the time of his death, detectives shared that Hurley "appeared to be emaciated," the documents revealed.
The deputy county attorney with the Gallatin County Attorney's Office, Bjorn Boyer told KTVH-TV, "I believe the systematic torture and beatings are perpetrated on the victim in this case that led to his death." All three suspects have been charged with one count of deliberate homicide.
A fourth person 18-year-old Gage Roush was also arrested for felony assault on a minor. As per court documents, Roush who is a family friend could be seen on cell phone footage beating up Hurley using a paddle.
Hurley had been sent to Montana by his mother to live with his father. According to a criminal complaint from the Gallatin County Attorney's Office, Hurley's mother lives in Texas. His father had died in 2018 and so he ended up living with his grandparents and uncle, the complaint revealed.
Relatives of Hurley shared that recently he had become very "suicidal", "erratic", and had started "hearing voices". In January, he attempted to hurt himself by running himself into an entertainment center. Despite the family's claims, the detectives found no record of them trying to get medical or psychiatric help for Hurley.
Hurley's biological mother also shared that she had tried to call the grandparents home many times but her attempts had been "systematically blocked by Batts". Based on the videos, detectives put together a timeline of abuse which dated back to December 2019.