ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. (Gray News) – A California family is mourning a “sweet” 6-year-old boy who was allegedly beaten to death with a piece of lumber by his babysitter days after he started first grade.
WARNING: This story contains graphic details that may be disturbing to some readers.
Ernest Lamar Love, 41, faces charges of murder, torture and child abuse causing death after he allegedly beat 6-year-old Chance Crawford to death while babysitting him, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. He has pleaded not guilty.
“Why would this happen to him? He didn’t get to live the rest of life,” Chance’s father, Vance Crawford, told KABC. “He’s 6 years old. I wanted to see my son graduate.”
Prosecutors say Love, a barber, was babysitting Chance last Thursday while the boy’s mother worked the night shift as a nurse’s assistant at the hospital. He is accused of beating the 6-year-old with a piece of lumber, pouring hydrogen peroxide on his open wounds and making him do push-ups, sit-ups and jumping jacks.
“Words do not exist to describe the absolute terror this little boy was forced to endure – all at the hands of someone who was supposed to be protecting him, not torturing him to death,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer in a press release.
Love allegedly carried an unconscious Chance into the emergency room at a children’s hospital about 1:30 a.m. last Friday. Doctors say the 6-year-old had raw wounds with most of the skin missing from his buttocks along with brain swelling and bleeding consistent with violent shaking, according to prosecutors.
Chance died from his injuries Tuesday afternoon.
“Seeing my son like that, in critical condition from the time he was brought in, it’s just devastating,” Crawford told KTLA. “He didn’t even die peacefully. He died a tragic death, and it’s not fair.”
Prosecutors say Love beat Chance, who had just started first grade, after the little boy peed his pants at the park.
Chance’s family held a vigil for him Wednesday night, describing the 6-year-old to KABC as “sweet,” “always smiling” and “a great kid.”
“This is killing us slowly because no child deserves to get treated like this,” said Chance’s cousin, Aisha Herrell. “He was growing up into a big, beautiful, smart little boy. We just hate that he’s no longer with us.”
Chance’s mother apparently met the suspect at church, KABC reports. The 6-year-old’s family is urging parents to always be aware of who’s watching their children.
“He lived a happy life,” Crawford said. “I love my son. I miss him so much. He didn’t deserve that.”
Love is currently being held without bail. He faces a maximum sentence of 32 years to life plus five years if convicted on all charges, according to prosecutors.
“He’s a monster,” Crawford told KTLA. “He deserves what’s coming. I’m going to let God handle him.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with Chance’s funeral costs.
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