Man Found Guilty In 3-Year-Old's Beating Death
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4)- A jury in Jefferson County has found a man guilty of first degree murder for beating a 3-year-old boy to death.
Lysander Harvey and Elijah's mother, Kristna Carpenter, were arrested in April 2011 after police were called to St. Anthony's Central on a report of a non-responsive child.
Carpenter was an employee of St. Anthony's and brought in Elijah because they couldn't wake him up.
Doctors found that that Elijah had multiple injuries including serious bleeding in the brain, a healing injury to his spleen, multiple visible bruises, healing rib fractures and blistering burn marks on his buttocks.
Harvey, 22, originally told police that the little boy fell down the stairs and that he "boxed" with the 34-pound child to "toughen him up."
He also admitted to "whooping" the child for potty training accidents which included whipping him with a belt with his pants both on and off.
The family lived at the Mesa Motor Inn in Lakewood at the time of Elijah's death.
According to court documents, on the evening that Elijah died his 5-year-old sister was standing in the corner holding a phone book as punishment, for much of the evening. She testified in court that Harvey would hold Elijah and beat him with a belt.
Harvey told Carpenter that he was going to give Elijah a "whooping" for a toileting accident. Carpenter didn't want to watch so she went outside the motel door. She stood there, occasionally texting Harvey to stop because she was afraid authorities would take away her children. She didn't go back inside the motel room to protect the little boy.
There was testimony that later in the evening, when Elijah was "sleeping" and they couldn't get him to wake up, Harvey put Elijah in the shower and alternately turned on the hot then cold water.
Harvey was immediately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Carpenter was sentenced to 19 years in February.
