Infant Dies After Mother, Her Boyfriend 'Sexually Tortured' Child

An infant died on his first birthday after he was “sexually tortured” by his mother and her boyfriend.

A court in Alabama heard Tuesday that Hoss Wayne Benham died in “pain and horror” after being sexually abused by his mother, Crystal Ballenger, and her boyfriend, Jeffrey Hugh Brown. The couple rushed the baby to a hospital in March 2014 where he was declared brought dead. During interrogation, the couple told police that the baby had drowned in the bathtub on their home.

However, an autopsy revealed that the boy had a total of 89 injuries including 38 that were sustained by blunt-force trauma. The infant also had seven injuries on his genitals. Prosecutors told the court the baby had suffered both physical and sexual torture. Both the accused were charged with capital murder. On Tuesday, the court adjourned Brown’s trial on his attorney’s request.

“It’s really unbelievable and just hard to read what happened to this infant child. His last 36 hours were spent in horror and pain," the prosecutor said. The couple will face life in prison or execution if convicted.

In a similar incident in Virginia earlier this year, a woman and her boyfriend were charged after her two-year-old child died of “blunt force trauma.” The boy was rushed to a hospital by his mother’s boyfriend, McKenzie Kyle Hellman, who claimed the toddler was unresponsive after falling down. The boy succumbed to injuries despite best efforts. However, investigation revealed that the boy’s injuries were not consistent with what one would sustain by a fall. It was further revealed that the victim had suffered horrific sexual and physical abuse at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend.