An Indiana couple was formally charged with murder this week in the death of a 6-year-old boy.
Franklin Elmore Jr., 29, and Cheyenne Elmore, 27, appeared in court on Monday to face the charges for the death of Franklin Elmore’s son, WNDU reports.
As CrimeOnline reported, the Elmores were arrested last week after the child was rushed to a hospital with traumatic injuries that his father said he caused himself. But an investigation uncovered surveillance video from the boy’s “playroom” that showed his father attacking him before his death.
Further court paperwork reveals that Elmore paced around in the yard with his hands on his head before the boy’s stepmother, who was in the room during the attack and did nothing, called 911.
Emergency room staff did not believe the boy’s injuries were self-inflicted as claimed by his father. They found a brain bleed and a punctured lung, along with bruises and other abrasions all over his body.
WNDU further spoke with the boy’s biological mother, who lives in Alabama. She told the outlet she had contacted the state’s Department of Child Services on multiple occasions because of things her son told her. The agency, she said, told her “they could do nothing because they didn’t find any bruises.”
“But when my son tells me that he goes to bed hungry at night when he gets in trouble, I don’t care if there’s food in that house,” she said. “There could be a thousand dollars worth of food in that house. Are they feeding it to him? Is he eating it?”
The mother said she had filed a formal report with the state agency, but they allegedly said they found nothing that required action. The agency sent the station a statement saying they were aware of an investigation but providing no information “due to an ongoing police investigation or criminal prosecution.”
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[Featured image: Franklin and Cheyenne Elmore/Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office]
