An abusive step-father admitted to beating his toddler stepson to de@th because he had "soiled his nappy". Paulo Cesar da Silva Santos, 23, rushed two-year-old Henry Gabriel to an emergency room on Monday, Dec. where staff found extensive bruising and alerted the police and child protection services. The toddler sadly d!ed, and police said the step-dad confessed to "hitting him with an open palm and a slipper" because of the soiled nappy.
The shocking de@th happened in the city of Queimados, in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Police arrested Santos and revealed worrying details that the 23-year-old had a history of aggression, according to witnesses.
Henry's father, David dos Santos Barreto, said his son had suffered punches and blows, and described feeling "devastated". The medical report listed multiple bruises, skull swelling, chest bruising, a puncture wound on the wrist, a dislocated tooth with bleeding and a shoe-sole-shaped mark on the thigh. Santos was arrested shortly after the assault and is facing charges of aggravated homicide.
Police said some witnesses have claimed the 23-year-old had previously assaulted the child and had a history of drug use. Family members said the toddler lived during the week with his mother, Yasmin, and Santos, and that Yasmin had asked Santos to take the boy to her mother's home that morning. Instead, Santos brought Henry to a hospital two hours later with critical injuries. Police Chief Julio da Silva Filho said the child had grown scared of his step-father. He said: "The boy was terrified. The boy's grandmother said in her testimony that he trembled and became restless in the step-father's presence. "It was a difficult relationship, and we found out that he was a habitual abuser of the child. This was confirmed by the neighbours, who heard him and the child screaming when these incidents occurred." According to the police chief, the mother was not aware that Santos was being abusive to the child. Police said the investigation was continuing while forensic results were pending.
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