Texas dad beats 2-year-old son to death after losing temper over potty training, body also reveals old bruises
HOUSTON, TEXAS: A father was accused of beating his 2-year-old son to death after struggling to potty train his child.
According to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, Antonio Hicks Sr. was taken into custody and charged with injury to a child on Saturday, July 25, after the victim, Antonio Hicks Jr., died at a hospital. The charges, however, are expected to be upgraded at a later date, as the investigation continues and the autopsy report is submitted.
The authorities said that the child was rushed to the Houston Northwest Emergency Room on Saturday in an unresponsive state by the suspect. The victim had multiple injuries, both recent and healing, on his body, the emergency room staff observed. When the father's account of how his kid got the injuries failed to be consistent with the bruises noticed by the medical staff, the police were informed.
When investigators arrived at the hospital and interviewed both Hicks and his wife, both admitted Hicks had lost his temper with the child while potty training and struck at him repeatedly.
Meanwhile, the boy's family is devastated by the news of the toddler's death and have said that they do not know what to make of it. Kali Brown, the boy's uncle, told ABC13 he's not a mere number and that every child matters. "We mattered to people when we were kids, so every kid should have at least a chance at life," he said.
The victim's family said that they definitely wanted justice to be served in the case but more than anything, they wanted the 2-year-old, fondly known as Baby K that he was missed. People who knew and loved the toddler gathered to light candles in his honor. They also brought balloons with the characters from the children's show 'Paw Patrol' because it was his favorite.
In a similar incident back in 2015, another Texas man named Anthony Trakemon Powell was charged with capital murder in connection with the death of Tristan Powell, his 3-year-old son whom authorities said he beat after growing frustrated with the child’s toilet training. “Land related Tristan was not ‘potty trained’ and that defendant had disciplined Tristan for many ‘accidents’ beginning on May 10, 2015,” read a probable cause document. “Land said that Anthony became increasingly upset over the lack of progress that they were showing in their ‘potty training.'”
Tristan’s aunt, Prosha Land, told authorities that she witnessed her brother complain and saw him hit Tristan after an 'accident.' “She stated that during one of these strikes, the child fell from a standing position to his ‘bottom,'” the document reads. “She stated that she then saw Anthony pick up Tristan ‘like a rag doll’ and strike him so hard on the head with his hand that he was knocked over and his head struck the tile flooring in the bathroom of her apartment. Mrs. Land stated that when his head hit the tile flooring, it made a loud sound, which indicated to her that his head struck the tile in a very violent manner.”
On the morning of May 28, Land’s brother woke her saying his son wasn’t breathing. Tristan was taken to a hospital, where she died the following day. “The defendant’s attitude was fairly nonchalant,” said prosecutor Connie Spence, according to the CBS affiliate KHOU. “In fact, according to witnesses, he was counting his money as he was riding to the hospital in the ambulance.”