Who was Emrik Osuna? Idaho boy, 9, starved and tortured to death by stepmom weighed 44 lbs and had trauma to penis
MERIDIAN, IDAHO: A court in Idaho was told of the horrific death of a child who lost his life after allegedly being starved and tortured including trauma to his penis by his stepmom. Emrik Osuna was declared dead on the morning of September 2 when paramedics arrived at his parents’ home to see vomit crusted in his hair and his whole body was covered in bruises.
It has been said that the nine-year-old was tortured by his stepmother Monique Osuna who worked from home during the coronavirus lockdown. Monique was then charged with murder. The child’s father, Erik Osuna was also pressed with felony injury of a child as he allegedly knew about Emrik's abuse but did not do anything to stop it. The parents accused of the crime appeared in court on Wednesday, March 31, for a hearing. During the hearing, witnesses were presented in court by prosecutors in an attempt to convince the judge that first-degree murder charges were warranted.
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Who was Emrik Osuna?
Several videos captured on nanny cameras that were installed inside the suspects' home and later found by police were also played inside the court on Wednesday. One footage from August 21, 2020, showed Emrik sleeping in the fetal position on the floor when suddenly Monique pulled him by the hair and swung him through the air like a ragdoll. The clip also showed the stepmother dragging the victim to the kitchen and yelling at him to do jumping jacks. She was also seen slapping and using a spoon to hit Emrik.
Meridian Police Detective Matthew Ferronato said Monique allegedly violently attacked the little boy for getting up in the night and drinking from cups that had been left out. Other footage showed Emrik doing extremely tiring physical exercises for long periods of time, which included wall-sits, one-legged stands, and "inch-worms". Ferronato told the court, “Each day, I would say over 12 hours a day, or thereabouts. Sometimes it would go on, 20-plus hours of constant exercise.”
As per reports, the night of September 1 when Emrik died, the victim’s father Erik sent a message to his wife that said they have to take the boy to the emergency room and "face it." The text added, “If you don't want to that's fine I'll go. I know you're scared, I am too.” It has also been said that around the same time, Monique also sent a text to her coworker and friend Hannah Berry, claiming that Emrik was not fine.
Berry testified that Monique had earlier complained about Emrik’s behavior, which increased in the past months before his tragic death. The friend of the stepmom also said that on the evening of September 1 at around 8:30 pm, she went to Monique’s place where she found the child lying unconscious on the floor. "He was laying down and he was covered in blankets - I mean, it looked like he was sleeping," she added.
Later at some point, someone in the apartment called 911. Meridian Police Officer Scott Frazier said when he reached the address, he found Emrik on the floor with his head towards the door. His father and Berry looked “stoic” while Monique was "frantic" and in tears. According to the detective, his first thought after seeing the child was he must have been suffering from a serious long-term illness. “He was very emaciated, he appeared ill, his eyes were sunk into his head. He was pale," Frazier added.
Frazier along with another officer performed CPR on Emrik after Monique told them he had ADHD. Eventually, paramedics also arrived at the scene and started treating him by removing his clothes that showed dark bruises from his inner thighs that went over his buttocks to his lower back. Frazier said that Emrik also suffered trauma to his penis, which appeared like someone had put a tightened rubber band around it.
Jana Reed, with the Ada County Paramedics, claimed that Emrik was wearing a diaper at the time. Reed added, “When I asked why he was in a diaper, I was told 'he kept wetting himself so I put a diaper on him.’” Paramedics reportedly succeeded to get his heart beating after about 20 minutes and took him to St. Luke's in Meridian from where he was shifted to the pediatric ICU at St. Luke's Children's Hospital in downtown Boise, where he was pronounced dead. A report later stated that Emrik was just 44 lbs when he died.
Meridian Police Detective Joseph Miller said Monique initially denied torturing Emrik but later confessed that she struck him with a wetted belt, leash, backscratcher, wooden spoon, and frying pan. Miller added, “She said she thought it would teach him a lesson. She said she was harder on him. She said she lashed out at him - hitting him with a pan and making him exercise while she worked, and that he only took a break when she took a break.”
It has been reported that both the accused will enter a plea in district court on April 26. If found guilty of first-degree murder, Monique and Erik could face up to life imprisonment or the death penalty.