Insets: Michael Horn and Alexiss Eitrem (Cobb County Sheriff”s Office). Background: The 400 block of Ramona Street where Horn’s 5-year-old son was allegedly beaten to death (Google Maps).
For five months, a Georgia father allegedly subjected his 5-year-old son to beatings that amounted to torture and led to the boy’s death.
Michael Horn, 31, stands accused of aggravated assault and five counts of child cruelty. His girlfriend, Alexiss Eitrem, also 31, is facing five counts of child cruelty.
The Marietta Police Department said in a Facebook post that officers discovered an unresponsive child at a home in the 400 block of Ramona Street on Sunday following a 911 call. The boy was rushed to the hospital where he died on Wednesday. Cops said the boy had obvious signs of trauma that appeared to be abuse.
“This 5-year-old who is now deceased had visible injuries that didn’t seem right,” Marietta Police Officer Chuck McPhilamy told local Fox affiliate WAGA.
According to a warrant obtained by the TV station, Horn “inflicted blunt force trauma” on the boy that led to internal bleeding, including on the brain. A warrant for Eitrem reportedly states she “knowingly allowed repeated beatings and torture of the five-year-old victim by his biological father over the course of approximately five months.”
Cops say the abuse occurred in front of the couple’s other four children. The warrant did not contain information about what led up to the alleged abuse.
Horn and Eitrem were arrested on Monday and remain in the Cobb County Jail without bond.
A neighbor told WAGA her daughter is friends with one of the kids that live in the home.
“I got chills all over my body,” Shirley Jones told the outlet. “She said that was her best friend. My heart goes out. I mean, it’s a child. I don’t know what else to say, but God be with him.”
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