A 41-year-old man from Orange County is charged with murder and torture in the death of a 6-year-old boy he was watching. It is said that he beat the boy to death with a piece of wood late last month.
The terrible event happened on August 29, after the victim, Chance Crawford, finished his third day of first grade and was dropped off at 6:30 p.m. at Ernest Lamar Love’s barbershop in Placentia.
Prosecutors said Love was taking care of the child while the boy’s mother worked at St. Joseph’s Hospital as a nurse’s helper during the night shift.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in a news statement that Love got angry with the child after the child allegedly peed in his pants at a nearby park.
Police said that around 11 p.m., security cameras caught the 41-year-old entering his barbershop with a “large piece of raw lumber with a reluctant Chance following behind him.”
As per the news release, Love is said to have hit the first-grader with the piece of lumber, then put hydrogen peroxide on the cuts and made the boy do push-ups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks.
Love is charged with taking Chance to the emergency room at Children’s Hospital of Orange County around 1:30 a.m. on August 30 instead of calling 911 for help when Chance passed out.
Prosecutors said that doctors at CHOC found that Chance’s buttocks were missing a lot of skin, leaving open wounds. They also found a subdural hematoma, extreme brain swelling, and other injuries that were consistent with being violently shaken. “The little boy also had a broken shoulder blade that was healing.”
Vance Crawford, the child’s father, told KTLA, “Seeing my son like that and in the condition he was in—critical condition from the time he was brought in—it’s just devastating.” “He didn’t even die in peace.” It’s not fair that he died in such a sad way.
The 6-year-old boy died on September 3 from his injuries.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said, “While his new classmates celebrated the end of the first week of first grade, Chance’s seat in his classroom was empty because he was fighting for his life in a hospital bed.” “There are no words to describe the horrible things this little boy had to go through at the hands of someone who was supposed to be watching out for him and not torturing him to death.”
There are three criminal charges against Love: murder, torture, and child abuse causing death. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.
The 41-year-old man could get 32 years to life in jail if found guilty as charged.
Dad of Chance also said, “He’s a monster.” “I’m sorry, he deserves what comes to him.” I’ll let God take care of him.
Two GoFundMe projects have been set up to help the family pay for Chance’s funeral. You can find them here and here.