Police in Las Vegas allege that a 7-year-old boy was beaten
to death by his parents after failing to read the Bible or do his
homework.
Roderick "RJ" Arrington Jr., was admitted to
an area hospital on Nov. 29 because he was unresponsive, according to
the Las Vegas Sun. Personnel there called officers to the scene after
they observed severe bruising and brain swelling, according to a police
report. The boy died the following afternoon.
Police arrested the boy's mother, Dina Palmer, 27, and stepfather,
Markiece Palmer, 34, and charged them with the murder of the boy.
Investigators said that Palmer "stood by and let her husband" shake and
beat the boy to death.
According to KLAS, the arrest report
detailed "open abrasions on [Arrington's] buttocks, severe bruising to
his thighs, marks and bruises on his back and shoulders and evidence of
previous beatings."
Markiece Palmer stated the second grade
student was spanked on Nov. 27 because he had lied about
reading the
Bible; he said the boy was also spanked the following day for not
finishing his homework, according to police.
Police claim the
boy's stepfather beat him with a spatula, belt and possibly a wooden
paddle. Dina Palmer allegedly struck her son on his buttocks with both a
belt and her hand.
The couple reportedly called a pastor before
dialing 911. KSNV writes, "Pastor Kenneth Hollingsworth says he's as
shocked as anyone that Markiece Palmer chose to call him before
first-responders."
The Palmers appeared in court Tuesday and each face charges of murder, child abuse and neglect, the station reports.
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