This week, a mother and stepfather from Detroit, Michigan, were found guilty of torturing and killing a 5-year-old child as well as assaulting his 3-year-old sibling. The abuse was documented in horrifying messages that the jury saw on a regular basis, which brought them to tears.
According to the Detroit News, the guilty convictions against 29-year-olds Shane Shelton and Valeria Hamilton were handed out quickly on Wednesday.
Wayne County prosecutors revealed that Shelton and Hamilton had been arrested in January 2023, and that Ethan Belcher had been tortured to death in a house with other children living there.
On Sunday, January 22, 2023, in the afternoon, the Detroit Police Department received a 911 call from the Spring Garden Street home where Ethan was killed.
Prosecutor Matthew Makepeace informed the court during Ethan’s arraignment that the boy had abrasions on his body shaped like loops, suggesting that he had been struck with something resembling rope.
The boy had gangrene on one of his toes, the prosecution added, and other kids in the residence had informed authorities that Shelton and Hamilton used to abuse Ethan and his sibling on a regular basis. In addition, they would confine the two in the basement, which was said to be full with sewage and excrement.
Ashley Belcher, Ethan’s aunt, told that she had reported the abuse to Child Protective Services the year before her loved one passed away, but after an investigation, the kids were still living with Hamilton and Shelton. She added that Ethan had burns from cigarette burns.
“He has over 100 cigarette burns on his body, he had frostbitten feet, and he was missing a toe that never was taken care of,” Belcher stated.
When Belcher learned about WDIV’s investigation on the number of other children in the state who were in similar circumstances and most likely died in 2020 and 2021 from abuse and neglect, she broke down in tears in a subsequent interview.
Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Kym Worthy described the abuse’s specifics as “very alarming” at the beginning of the case and promised that they will be confirmed in court.
Ethan Belcher had horrific bruises all over his body and did not survive after being beaten with a pipe, a fly swatter, and a belt, according to evidence shown to the grieving jurors during the trial, according to the Detroit News.
According to child victim testimonials, both parents were blamed for the abuse, and there was incriminating text proof between them.
In one, Hamilton threatened Shelton, saying, “If I try to whoop their a—- I will LEGIT KILL THEM and then I’ll go to f—ing jail,” before she intentionally abused her children in the bitterly cold basement, according to the report. According to the article, prosecutors even showed Ethan a video clip of Hamilton saying, “I’m tired of you,” one time. You’re not leaving the basement at all.
The mother allegedly texted Shelton again and yelled, “F— it.” I gave them a severe beating.
At this point, Shelton and Hamilton are both considering life in prison.
The extended family of Ethan has long maintained that despite “multiple CPS reports” being filed “over the years,” “the children were allowed right back into this abusive and neglectful home each time.”
The boy left behind three brothers, according to his obituary.
