A mother and her boyfriend allegedly bludgeoned a 4-year-old boy to death for spilling his breakfast cereal. Philly is reporting that Lisa Smith, 19, and Keiff King, 26, have been charged with the murder of Tahjir Smith .
A forensic report released March 30 determined that the 4-year-old boy died from numerous blunt injuries and thermal abrasions as well as shock.
According to Fox 10 , after Tahjir spilled his cereal on the morning of January 22 and told his mother, he was ordered to hold a push-up position as punishment for a long time.
When the 4-year-old boy could no longer hold the position, his mother and boyfriend had taken him to a back room and allegedly resorted to a brutal and lengthy beating.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele speaking to the Independent revealed that the beatings were so violent that pattern imprints were found on young Tahjir’s body when emergency respondents arrived at the scene.
Charging documents revealed that the Pennsylvania couple struck the boy with their hands and a shoe on his bare buttocks, torso, and head.
An autopsy also revealed old rib fractures that suggested that it was not the first time that Tahjir had been abused by the Pennsylvania couple.
Police: charged 19-year-old Lisa Smith and 26-year-old Keiff King https://t.co/WQSZDp8hE7 via @ABC7NY
— Mz. Chitown ? (@Karma4ThatAzz) January 24, 2018
When the child became unresponsive, he was allegedly placed under a scalding hot shower by his mother and boyfriend to revive him. The forensic pathologist confirmed that the water was so hot that it burned the young boy’s shoulder.
Investigators claim the pair was trying to resuscitate the boy and continue with the atrocious punishment.
By the time medics were called for a respiratory emergency to the residence, Tahjir was described as “limp and unresponsive.”
He was later declared dead at the Abington Jefferson Health Hospital. The couple admitted to investigators that they had used their hands to give Tahjir a “butt whopping.”
Smith and King are expected to plead at a court hearing on April 18 after being charged with first-degree murder.
People is reporting that King had shown at least one sign of his violent tendencies before the death of Tahjir Smith. In 2016, he was arrested for reportedly punching a woman in the face.
According to court records, the woman was holding his 1-year-old son when she was purportedly assaulted. The charges were dropped when the woman failed to keep her court appearance.
Tahjir’s mother, Lisa Smith, was six months pregnant with King’s child when she reportedly beat her older child to death.
