A 2-year-old boy died after he was tied to a chair as punishment, Florida authorities say. Now his mother is accused of murder.
Hillsborough County Deputies They said they responded to reports of a toddler in distress on May 19 and found the 2-year-old with multiple injuries. The child was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 24-year-old boy’s mother, Rebecca Louise Gussage-Johnston, told officers that he had punished the child for “acting badly” the day before by tying him to a booster seat, according to an arrest report, according to Law & Crime. Gussage-Johnston put his son in the seat on the night of May 18 and left him there until 11 am the next day.
Gussage-Johnston found the child overturned in the chair”suffer[ing] from seizures and shaking uncontrollably” on the morning of May 19, according to the arrest report, WKRG reported.
Deputies said Gussage-Johnston did not call for help despite having a working cell phone, according to a June 15 news release from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Instead, a concerned family member called 911 to report the boy’s injuries.
Gussage-Johnston was initially arrested May 19 and charged with aggravated child abuse resulting in great bodily harm and child neglect, the sheriff’s office said. After a coroner’s report revealed the girl’s manner of death was grossly negligent homicide, she was charged with first-degree murder while committing aggravated child abuse.
Agents said Gussage-Johnston remains in custody.
Hillsborough County is about 10 miles east of Tampa.
Teen with autism dies after being given medication to ‘shut him up,’ South Carolina coroner says
Man convicted of killing his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son dies in custody, Oregon officials say
Missing 4-year-old girl likely found dead in Tennessee, police say. Mom and boyfriend loaded