A mother who reportedly beat her three-year-old son to death in a car park by swinging him against the ground by his legs has been arrested after a cop driving by spotted her holding the tot’s lifeless body.
Gloria Elena Hughes, 37, reportedly attacked her son, named as Jason Garcia, in the parking lot of a self-storage business in the town of Bel Air, Harford County, in the US state of Maryland on 3rd December.
An off-duty sheriff’s deputy spotted the woman holding little Jason’s dead body on a street and immediately reported the case, according to local media.
According to reports, the business’ CCTV camera caught Hughes beating up her little son to death.
She could reportedly be seen hitting his head against the asphalt before slamming him on the ground by his legs.
Little Jason was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Bel Air Police Chief Charles Moore told local media: “It’s just heartbreaking. If there’s evil, that’s pure evil. That’s pure evil when you see something like that, and it hurts all of us.
“This is a heartbreaking event for the town. We’re a small town. It’s difficult for all of us. It’s difficult for all the public servants that were out there.”
According to reports, the night before the incident, Jason had been taken in the emergency room because he had ingested a boric acid suppository.
Hughes is charged with first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death, according to local media.
The judge denied bail as the case is ongoing.
Chief Moore added: “We work hard for every case to bring it to a complete closure, but for something like this, we’re working extra hard to make sure justice is served.”