18-year-old Cherron Patterson and her 15-year-old boyfriend — both high school students — are charged in the beating death of Patterson’s toddler.
The autopsy on 20-month-old Imani Jennings shows old injuries and scars on her body, proving there was an ongoing pattern of abuse.
Jennings was beaten to death Friday. Police say her mother’s boyfriend, Anthony Weakfall, 15, hit the girl with a metal rod, cable wire, a metal spring and his bare hand for an hour after she urinated on the floor Friday morning. She was beaten until she was unrecognizable. He then left for school.
Police say Patterson and Weakfall returned from school that day to find the child’s lifeless body. Patterson then called 911 from a neighbor’s home.
After questioning, investigators determined for the last two weeks Patterson and her boyfriend Weakfall had been leaving the child home alone with only a bowl of chicken nuggets and a glass of milk. The pair also admitted to beating the child as a form of discipline when she would have an accident.
After four full days, investigators continue to collect evidence inside the Fage Avenue home.
- Imani’s father and grandmother had no idea; they just started hearing from people Sunday night who had a clue something was going on, but none of them came forward before it escalated to the baby’s death.
“She was the light of my life. If it wasn’t shining, the sun came out when she was around,” says Imani’s biological father Lee.
But the family says the baby’s mother, Cherron Patterson, wasn’t letting Lee see the child. He had just started the process of filing for custody; he had a lawyer, and was playing it by the book.
The autopsy showed scars on Imani’s body — scars proving the child was enduring abuse for a long time.
To make matters worse, people are now telling the Jennings that they suspected something was going on. Suspected, but didn’t say anything.
“If I had the slightest hint of what was being done to my baby, I would have lost it,” Lee says.
“I was cooperative — maybe too cooperative,” Lee says. READ MORE…
Thanks to loyal reader Chanel for the tip.
