A brave eight-year-old boy was beaten to death with a baseball bat after he tried to protect his mother from her apparently abusive boyfriend.
Leland ‘Lee’ Arnett died four days after he was struck in the head with a bat during a domestic violence incident at his family home in De Soto, Illinois on May 13.
His accused killer Marcus Moultrie, 36, also allegedly attacked his mother Deborah Snider that same night, according to court records obtained by WSIL.
Police were called to the residence around 11pm for reports of a domestic disturbance and found Snider unconscious. Lee had been suffering from a ‘serious’ head wound.
Both the 31-year-old and little boy were life-flighted to a hospital in nearby St Louis, Missouri, where Lee died on May 17.
‘This happened because Lee was trying to protect his mother,’ his heartbroken great-aunt Anne Donlan Andrew told The Journal Star.
‘That takes a lot to stand up for your mom in a violent situation like that, and he did… I wish he wouldn’t have, but he did.’
Lee was buried last Thursday in Nebraska, where his father and extended family live. His family said he donated his organs as his ‘final act of heroism.’
What a precious little brave angel that little boy was. There is special place in heaven for him!! And there is a special place in hell for the cowardly thug who killed that innocent little boy. It breaks my heart. He didn’t deserve that , all in trying his best to protect his mom. Bless his sweet little heart,. RIP little brave man!
Poor choices in men.
She’ll choose yet another loser as her next baby daddy.
Wash, rinse, repeat.