Stepbrother Beats 14-Year-Old Boy with Autism to Death, Mother Stands by and Watches

A man from Tennessee has been charged with beating his stepbrother to death while their mother stood by and watched the whole incident unfold. The stepbrother was only 14-years-old.

Stepbrother beats 14-year-old to death

According to NewsChannel5 Nashville reported that the mother did not do anything to stop the man from physically assaulting the 14-year-old boy.

The suspects, 52-year-old Rebacca Greenwood and 33-year-old David Matheny told the police officers that 14-year-old Sayeed Neilson, who had autism, fell in the shower on October 22 and that they helped him get into bed. They said they checked on him periodically before they went to a bar for a few drinks.

On October 23, the two suspects said that they went to a grocery store for cleaning products and they found the boy unresponsive in his room after they cleaned the house.

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However, detectives said that Neilson's injuries were inconsistent with a fall and they took both Greenwood and Matheny in for questioning.

During her interview, Greenwood said that she saw Matheny punch Neilson and kick him hard in the head. She also said that she told Matheny to stop, but she walked away without confirming that he had stopped punching and kicking Neilson.

Matheny admitted during his interview that he had been fighting with his stepbrother but he denied that he had caused any serious inquiry. Authorities said that they believe the house cleaning that happened before Greenwood called the police was their attempt to destroy evidence.

Both Greenwood and Matheny have been charged with criminal homicide and evidence tampering, according to their jail records. The mother was charged with aggravated child neglect, while the stepbrother was charged with aggravated child abuse. Both Greenwood and Matheny are now being held without bond.

Similar case

In September, an 11-year-old boy was attacked and left bleeding by a woman outside a McDonald's on Grange Road, Birkenhead. The victim suffers from autism, according to Liver Pool Echo.

The victim's mother posted the details of the incident on Facebook, and she said that the whole thing stemmed from the woman believing that the boy had split a drink on her shoes while they were inside McDonalds. According to the mother, the woman who assaulted her son was in her 50s.

The mother said that the woman was chasing children in front but then decided to get to her son first. A drink got split in McDonald's and got on her shoes and she waited for them. She said that her son's ear was cut to bits and that he suffers with social communication and problems related to autism.

Not only did the boy's mother posted about the incident, the boy's grandmother also released a statement and said that the boy was out with his friends for the first time and the woman had scratches his ears, punched him in the ribs and throttled him.

Police have immediately confirmed that they have received a report of the assault and they investigated the incident. The police had charged the woman with assault, and said to have found her thank to the CCTV near the McDonald's branch. The boy suffered a cut to his ear and his knee.