CULLMAN, Ala. (AP) - A Cullman County Sheriff’s investigator says a one-year-old boy who died on his birthday was held underwater and forced to eat hot sauce by his mother’s boyfriend.
The Cullman Times reports (https://bit.ly/1ijRpRE) a medical examiner found homicide as the cause of Hoss Wayne Benham’s March 11 death.
The boy’s 23-year-old mother Crystial Ballenger and 37-year-old Jeffrey Hugh Brown are charged with aggravated child abuse and remain in custody on a $30,000 bond. It’s unclear if they have attorneys.
Investigators say Ballenger told police Brown gave the boy Tabasco to make him stop crying.
During an autopsy, officials found the boy had burns on his feet, bruises on his body and injuries to his head and face.
No additional charges have been filed at this time.
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Information from: The Cullman Times, https://www.cullmantimes.com
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