Stepfather Allegedly Thrashes 4-Year-Old To Death For Eating Slowly, Injures Child's Mom

A 4-year-old boy died after being allegedly thrashed by his stepfather for eating slowly, officials said Monday. The child's mother who tried to resist the assault has also been reportedly injured.

The deceased toddler, identified as Nashawn Brown, from St Catherine in the southeast region of Jamaica was brought to a hospital after he became unresponsive Sunday. The doctors pronounced the child dead on arrival at the hospital, news outlet Jamaica Gleaner reported.

After the boy's death, the investigators questioned the child's mother and his stepfather whose identities have not been revealed. The stepfather was eventually taken into custody.

According to the police report, the child complained about not feeling well and was eating slowly while the family was at dinner at around 7 p.m. Sunday. "The stepfather became angry and broke a piece of stick which he used to beat the deceased severely causing bruising and swelling to his upper and lower limbs," the police report said.

The boys' mother alleged that she tried to stop her spouse from assaulting the child but she was reportedly hit with the stick and a metal piece when she tried to resist. The woman reportedly suffered bruising, swelling and a wound to her left arm that caused bleeding.

Minutes after the thrashing, the stepfather found the child breathing slowly and later unresponsive inside a bathroom of the house, Cayman Marl Road reported. The child was taken to the hospital at around 9 p.m. where he was pronounced dead.

Though taken into custody, the police have not filed charges against the man. "We are awaiting the results of the post mortem to see if there is enough to lay charges," a police spokesperson told Jamaica Gleaner.

Last week, an 8-year-old boy in India died hours after his father thrashed him with a stick for not having dinner. The victim, identified as Saurabh Bhool, who resided in Rajkot, a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat, was hospitalized after having convulsions and was pronounced dead on July 15. Bhool's father, Siddarth, initially claimed that the boy injured himself while playing but later admitted to the police he had thrashed him for not eating dinner.