Kayden Culp: 10-Year-Old Special Needs Boy Set On Fire In Texas


A 10-year-old special needs boy was set on fire after allegedly being attacked by bullies in a field next to a Texas park. Kayden Culp suffered second-degree burns on 20 percent of his body and is now fighting for his life at a Kerrville area hospital. The burns on the little boy’s body stretch from his belly button to his ears.

Kayden Culp was reportedly playing in a field by the park with two boys when a third child suddenly poured gasoline on him and set him on fire. Tristyn Hatchett, the mother of the 10-year-old special needs boy, told WOIA reporters that her son is battling infection and has been placed on medication in an effort to help stabilize his heart. On Wednesday evening, the little boy reportedly took a turn for the worse and organ failure may have begun.

The 10-year-old special needs boy is currently on life support after being placed in an induced coma and having a feeding tube inserted, according to a fundraising page established to help the family defray the costs of his medical care.

Kayden Culp exhibits autistic behavior but has not yet been officially diagnosed, according to public statements made by the family.

“My son is a special guy. He was rowdy and he liked to have fun,” the worried mother said during an interview with the Houston Chronicle. “He considered these guys his friends, but they would make fun of him and pick on him and tease him. He was usually the brunt of that kind of joke, but he kept playing with them.”

Tristyn Hatchett wants Kerrville police officers to press charges against the boys who attacked her son and set him on fire. The fire marshal was placed in charge of the investigation because the incident involved arson. On Wednesday evening, one child was arrested and taking into police custody after being charged with first-degree arson.

A statement from the Kerrville Fire Marshal revealed the unidentified juvenile is believed to be responsible for causing the victim’s severe burns.

“The other kids are saying that he was going to be riding his bike like he always is, my nephew Kayden is going to be riding his bike, and they said we’re going to grab him and take him inside and burn him,” Kelly Mack, an aunt of the young burn victim, told reporters.

Kayden Culp’s family learned the details of the potentially deadly attack after a child who claims to have witnessed the incident, contacted relatives.

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“There’s no reason they should not already be incarcerated. The other boys who were there have been telling kids at school that it was not an accident, that it was intentional,” Hatchett said before the first of potentially more arrests.

Ashley White, a neighbor of the Hatchett family, told local reporters she saw firefighters arrive and put out a fire at a shed by the field. According to White, the firefighters then went to the home of one of the boys allegedly involved in the incident.

The neighbor also said even though it is not uncommon for other children in the neighborhood to make fun of, or bully, Kayden Culp, that the 10-year-old special needs boy still liked to play with them.

“They make fun of him. He gets beat up in Carver Park every time he goes up there. That’s just the way it is. The kids are really mean,” Alike Richardson, another one of the boy’s aunts, said. “What kids think about burning other kids up?”

Richardson has been caring for the three other children of Tristyn and Bobby Hatchett since Culp was severely burned.

An unidentified woman from the neighborhood reportedly rushed to Culp’s aid and put out the fire burning on his little body. The last time Tristyn Hatchett was able to speak with her son was in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. The mother said her son asked for a hug and a kiss and told her the name of a specific boy who “needs to go to jail.”

[Featured Image by Shutterstock]

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