3-year-old tortured to death; godmother, boyfriend charged

When Ashley Brewton moved to a homeless shelter in March, she entrusted her 3-year-old son to Nadera Batson, a family friend she had known for years.

On Friday, homicide detectives charged the 22-year-old Batson and her boyfriend, Marcus King, with systematically beating, burning, and eventually murdering Jaquinn Brewton, who died Monday after he was taken off life support.

Jaquinn was hospitalized June 29 after Batson, described by family members as Jaquinn's godmother, called police to report that the child fell down a flight of stairs in her West Philadelphia apartment and would not wake up.

An autopsy found that the boy died from blunt force trauma. He had bruises and severe injuries to his spleen and pancreas, police said. The child's body was covered with burns that police believe were made with a small cooking blowtorch.

Burns were found even on the bottoms of the child's feet.

Philadelphia homicide Capt. James Clark on Friday described the abuse as "heinous."

"This little boy took all the pain he could until he couldn't take it anymore," he said.

Another homicide investigator said the child's skin was "layered" with burns.

"This child was tortured on a daily basis," the source said.

Batson has been arrested on drug charges but has no violent criminal record. King, 23, had also been arrested on drug charges, records show, and in 2009 he pleaded guilty to assault.

A police source said Ashley Brewton moved five of her six children into a city homeless shelter after a neighbor reported the family to the Department of Human Services, allegedly because the children appeared unkempt and malnourished. There was no further DHS involvement, the source said.

DHS spokeswoman Alicia Taylor said she could not confirm if the boy had been a client because of confidentiality laws, but said the department was contacted the day Brewton's injuries occurred and is conducting its own investigation.

"We have to make sure that every child in this family is safe," she said. "That is what our investigation is focusing on. We are concerned with the safety and well-being of his siblings."

Tammie Brewton, Ashley Brewton's aunt, said Batson offered to take Jaquinn temporarily as a favor to Brewton. Batson, she said, had often cared for the boy and even lived with the family in the past.

"We thought she was trying to help," Tammie Brewton said. "We didn't think anything of it, because we never thought she would hurt him."

In March, Batson moved Jaquinn into an apartment she shared with King, at 47th and Chestnut Streets. From then on, Brewton said, the family rarely saw the boy.

"She would never let us in the door," Tammie Brewton said. "We would see her and ask, 'Where's Jaquinn?' She always said [her boyfriend] was watching him, or taking him to Sesame Place, or taking him for a haircut."

Ashley Brewton last saw her son in April, her aunt said. Jaquinn seemed fine, if hungrier than usual.

Jaquinn, meanwhile, was withstanding "unconscionable" daily abuse, Clark said. The child was slightly developmentally delayed, and police believe the couple lashed out at him with kicks, punches, blows with objects and, often, the blowtorch.

On June 29, Batson called police, reporting that the child fell. He was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in critical condition.

Right away, police were suspicious of Batson's story. Batson explained the burns by saying the boy climbed into a hot bathtub. Police also believe she may have tried to clean the apartment of blood evidence before authorities arrived last month.

When family members came to the hospital to see Jaquinn, Tammie Brewton said, they were shocked by the sight of the child's body.

"When we took the blanket off the baby, we knew then that he was being abused," she said. "The burns were so bad it looked like there were spots all over him. And she just lied to our faces."