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Father accused of suffocating son, 6, against couch
He is now being held without bond at the Sarasota County Jail. When asked about the victim, the sibling responded, “When dad squished him, he got dead”, according to the affidavit.
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Police said that James “Rick” Dearman and his girlfriend, Ashley Cole, told detectives the couple had told the two children to go to bed at 7.30pm, WFLA reported.
Cole said the 6-year-old boy turned around and was caught watching Dearman and Cole playing video games. Late Wednesday, detectives working in conjunction with the Medical Examiner’s Office charged Dearman with aggravated child abuse.
Dearman initially made the boy stand in a corner as punishment, but when he saw the child looking at the video game instead of the wall, he forced the boy to lay on the couch, then sat on him with his face pressed against the cushions, investigators said. The child was later transported to the hospital and pronounced dead. Dearman and his girlfriend reportedly left the child on the couch, and went to the garage to smoke a cigarette. Deputies said they saw bruising on the boy’s back.
Neighbors on Lord Street described themselves as shocked and heartbroken on Thursday to learn of the death of the 6-year-old boy they often would see playing outdoors with his sibling. Dearman ignored the pleas and the 6-year-old boy urinated on himself and Dearman, the sibling stated.
Mr Dearman then pinned the boy with his bodyweight to the couch so that he was facing the rear cushions.
When the parents returned about 10 minutes later, the report said, they found the child still lying on the couch with blue lips and not breathing, a probable cause affidavit said.
Cole ran to pray while Dearman called 911 and attempted CPR until paramedics arrived. No charges have been filed against Cole.
“There’s not a detective or anybody who isn’t pretty upset about this and finds it egregious and malicious, the treatment of a 6-year-old child”, said Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Captain John Walsh.
Deputies say his history also includes an arrest in 2008 for desertion from the Navy.
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Dearman weighs 270 pounds, investigators said.