A five-year-old Boy from Kentucky was found dead and police said that before he was killed, he first watched his mother be beaten and thrown off a cliff. The mother survived the ordeal.
Two hikers alerted police after they found the mother and the boy was found near the area where his mother was left to die.
Boy identified, details remain scarce
The boy was identified by the Kentucky State Police as James Spoonamore. Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rick Sanders told The New York Post that they do not know, yet, how Spoonamore died. The autopsy reports will be available sometime in the next week.
The mother was identified as Jessica Durham. She is still recovering at a hospital in Lexington. She has not released any statement yet.
Suspect charged, arrested
The suspected was identified as 41-year-old Lonnie Belt. He was arrested and charged with assault, kidnapping, and tampering with evidence. More charges against him are expected. Police did not say how Belt tampered with evidence.
Belt and Durham knew each other but they were not romantically involved. Family members said that Durham told them Belt approached her on Friday while she was with her son, while they were preparing to go to a doctor’s appointment.
Belt reportedly asked Durham to go with him in order to wake up her husband at a nearby home.
When Durham went inside the home where Belt claimed her husband was, he hit her in the head, the Lexington Herald Leader reported. He then continued to beat her in order to render her unconscious, then tied her up, and took her to a cliff, where he assaulted her again before tossing her off. Durham also told officials that she last saw her son with Belt before she fell down the 80 foot cliff.
Reports said that the husband of Durham most probably got into an argument with Belt over money so he took it out on Durham and the child. Durham believes Belt was on drugs and thinks that her husband does not have the money for Belt.
Durham is still in critical condition. She suffered broken bones, head trauma, and internal bleeding, The Richmond Register reported.
Relatives sad over news
Some of the relatives, of Durham and her son, are from Florida and they are still reeling from Hurricane Irma. Durham's sister said it has been hell, especially the death of her nephew. Durham’s mother, Cynthia Wallace, described Spoonamore as a sweet boy who loves to play with cars and trucks. She also revealed that Spoonamore just started attending classes at a local kindergarten and to lose him at such an early age hurts.
