Michigan Parents Arrested for Murdering Their 5-Year-Old and Abusing Their 3-Year-Old.
A Detroit, Michigan couple have been arrested for allegedly killing a young boy over the weekend. Robert Shelton, 27, and Valeria Lynn Hamilton, 27, have both been charged with killing Hamilton's son, Shelton's stepson, and abusing Hamilton's younger son.
According to reports from Fox News, Police responded to the 14660 block of Spring Garden Street just after 1 p.m. Sunday and saw medics take 5-year-old Ethan Belcher to an EMS truck. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. There was a 3-year-old boy in the home who was also was taken to a hospital.
According to the boys aunt, the couple had a history of abusing the two boys and had been reported to the authorities multiple times.
"This baby suffered some very severe abuse through his life, and I tried to report it last year. I had pictures. I took them to the hospital myself," Ethan's aunt, Ashley Belcher, said.
Ashley Belcher said Ethan and his younger brother were abused numerous times in front of five other children who lived in the home.
"He didn’t even have a chance to have a good life. I wanted to give him a good life," Ashley Belcher said. "He was very happy, loving. Had a lot of energy as boys always do. He loved going to the parks with this brother."
Investigators in the case believe that Ethan Belcher was brutally beaten to death by both Shelton and Hamilton.
Hamilton also had an older son that has been placed with Ashley Belcher. There is no word on the relation of the other children who lived inside the home or if they've also been placed in the care of relatives.
Shelton and Hamilton have both been charged with felony murder, two counts of first-degree child abuse, one count of torture, and one count of conspiracy to commit torture.
