A nine-year-old boy who was covered in bruises and vomit when he was found dead had been allegedly tortured by his step-mum.
Little Emrik Osuna was pronounced dead in the early hours of Wednesday morning after paramedics arrived at his parents’ residence in Meridian, Idaho, and found him not breathing.
The emergency services found the boy malnourished and with vomit coming out of his mouth.
He was later pronounced dead in the pediatric ICU at St. Luke’s Meridian Medical Centre.
His stepmum, 27-year-old Monique Osuna, has been charged with murder, online court records show.
The boy’s dad, Erik Osuna-Gutierrez, 29, has been charged with felony injury to a child, infliction of great bodily harm and destruction of evidence.
Lawyers detailed how the boy allegedly suffered unspeakable neglect and “horrific torture” at the hands of stepmum Monique Osuna during Thursday’s court appearance.
The married mother-of-four also allegedly tortured Emrik by locking him in a closet at night and subjecting him to strenuous physical exercise as punishment – such as wall sits and jumping jacks.
The boy’s dad told lawyers the nine-year-old was only fed rice and water in the weeks before he died.
“In combination with this physical abuse, this defendant admitted to what is essentially torture of E.O. by locking him in a small closet at night to sleep, withholding food, making him do physical strenuous punishments while she was working,” said prosecutor Tamara Kelly.
Addressing the judge on Thursday, Ms Kelly said: “The little boy had bruises all over his body, specifically on his buttocks, groin, legs and torso.
“Some of the bruises were extremely large and essentially covered the back of his body.”
The prosecutor alleged that Osuna told cops she beat the boy with a frying pan, a belt, and a dog leash and that he essentially became a prisoner in her home.
The boy’s father allegedly was aware of the torture but failed to stop it.
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The alleged abuse reportedly intensified while Emrik was doing remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic, The Sun reports.
At around 5pm on Tuesday, Erik allegedly texted his wife, telling her that they needed to take his son to the hospital and that he was scared – but the couple reportedly waited for hours before doing so.
It was not until just before 9.40pm that evening that the Meridian Police Department received a 911 call reporting that a child was not breathing.
Emergency responders arrived at the Rushmore Apartments in the 1000 block of W. Broadway Avenue and found Emrik with no heartbeat.
“Officers observed that the victim showed signs of abuse,” according to a police press release.
EMS crews performed CPR on the nine-year-old before transporting him to St. Luke’s Meridian Medical Centre, where he was later pronounced dead, according to Mail Online.
The couple’s three other children, aged nine, four and four months, were placed into protective custody with Idaho Health and Welfare.
The judge ordered the couple held on $2million bond each and barred them from having contact with their children.
Source: Mirror
