A dad accused of brutally beating his seven-year-old son and then burning him with boiling oil has been charged with his murder six months after he died.
Suspect Murtadah Mohammad, 25, had told police he had been taking a shower when his son Jaevion Riley died in January.
Mohammad claimed he had come out of the bathroom and found Jaevion critically injured but could not say how it happened.
The battered youngster died in hospital of his severe injuries after seven days in a coma.
Now state prosecutors in New Hampshire, USA, have charged Mohammad with second-degree murder over his son’s death.
He had previously been charged with assault, endangering the welfare of a child and falsifying physical evidence at the family home in Hillsborough County.
Jaevion’s mother Rainah Riley – who had lost a custody battle for her son – told local media at the time: “It looks as if it’s from boiling water or oil, or just straight, just, maybe set on fire.”
She added. “His tooth was kicked out, he has blunt force trauma to the head. This man was trying to kill my child.”
New Hampshire Attorney General’s office said in a statement obtained by CEN on 3rd July: “Attorney General John M. Formella and Manchester Police Chief Allen D. Aldenberg announce that Murtadah Mohammad has been arrested on one count of second-degree murder for the death of J.R., a minor.
“It is alleged that on or about January 17, 2023, Murtadah Mohammad caused the death of J.R., a person under 13 years of age, recklessly under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of his life, by subjecting him to abusive violence and not obtaining timely medical assistance for his injuries.”
The statement went on: “Murtadah Mohammad currently is in jail on nonhomicide charges arising from alleged abuse of J.R., in a case being prosecuted by the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office.
“It is anticipated that those charges will be dropped, and prosecution transferred wholly to the Attorney General’s Office to pursue the murder charge and any associated charges.”
