Montana Paddle-Beating Death: Evidence Points To ‘Regular’ Abuse Of Boy By Relatives

Yellowstone, Montana prosecutors said James Alex Hurley, who was found dead on February 3, had been tortured and beaten to death using various beating methods such as paddle-beating by his grandparents and uncle.

According to Newsweek, Hurley’s grandparents, James Sasser Jr., 47, Patricia Batts, 48, and the boy’s 14-year-old uncle, were charged with deliberate homicide on Thursday following their appearance at the Gallatin County Justice Court.

Investigators revealed that they found video evidence indicating the regular abuse that Hurley experienced from his grandparents and uncle. Aside from being beaten up with a wooden paddle, the victim was also denied food.

During the court proceedings, Prosecutor Byorn Boyer said he believes the “systematic torture and beatings” that Hurley experienced in the hands of his caretakers led to his death.

In charging documents presented at court, Batts said her grandson was sleeping on the floor in the living room and was moaning throughout the night. She then found Hurley dead the next morning, she alleged on the court documents.

However, a Gallatin County Sheriff’s deputy who responded to the family home at Buffalo Drive found some circumstances around the boy’s death that he found suspicious. The said deputy then asked for assistance from the detectives division.

Charging documents also revealed that Hurley’s uncle admitted to kicking Hurley in the head multiple times during the last two to three days before the child died, FOX News reported.

The uncle also said that he saw Hurley standing over their grandmother with a knife and the pair later had a “bad fight” on January 27, court records revealed.

Autopsy results revealed that Hurley died from blunt trauma to the head. Bruising was also found all over the victim’s body.

Sasser Jr. and Batts were charged under the felony murder law, while the minor uncle was charged with deliberate homicide. The uncle’s bail was set at $500,000, while Batts and Sasser Jr. saw their bail set at $750,000 and $500,000 respectively.

On Friday, the Bozeman Chronicle reported that Gage Roush was also arrested in connection to the torturing of Hurley. He was charged with felony assault on a minor with bail set at $50,000.

Roush’s arrest came after deputies found a video on Hurley’s uncle’s phone where Roush was seen paddle-beating the victim. Roush, 18, has since acknowledged to detectives that he was the person on the video who was seen striking the child.

Roush could face up to 40 years behind bars for his contribution in the fatal torturing of Hurley if he is convicted.