Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department have arrested a man suspected of causing the death of his girlfriend’s 1-year-old daughter.
On May 30, the toddler’s mother, who remains unidentified, went to work and left her daughter, Zaria Box, in the care of her boyfriend, 22-year-old Adrian Bostick.
Three hours later, the child had stopped breathing, and Bostick contacted the child’s mother, police said.
“Something is wrong with Stink,” he told her on video chat. Stink was Zaria’s nickname, Indy Star reported.
The mother rushed home to the 4100 block of Shady Oak Drive near 42nd Street and Mitthoeffer Road and found Zaria near the apartment building’s front door. She attempted to perform CPR on the child.
At the time, Zaria appeared to have bruising, scratches, and multiple bite marks, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Police officers responded, and the child was rushed to Riley Hospital for Children in critical condition and pronounced dead upon arrival.
According to court documents, Bostick claimed that Zaria was “a biter, cusses, and throws things.” He stated she had a tantrum on the fateful night that she died.
Court documents further relate that in the days before Zaria’s death, her mother began to see injuries on her daughter, and upon questioning Bostick about them, he said they “just popped up,” according to the Indy Channel.
The coroner’s report stated the child’s injuries included hemorrhages in the skull, a skull fracture, bite marks on her left thigh, left arm, left buttock cheek, bleeding of the kidney, as well as bruises on her arms, ribcage, and forehead, leading prosecutors to conclude the cause of death was due to blunt force traumatic injury, which was confirmed by a pathologist quoted in court records.
Her death, on May 31, was ruled a homicide. Bostick was charged on Saturday, June 15, with battery resulting in death to a person under 14, which is a Level 2 felony, and was arrested on Monday night, June 17. If convicted, he would face a possible sentence of 10 to 30 years in state prison.
An initial hearing was scheduled for June 18, 2019.
2-Year-Old Boy Left in Vegetative State
A 2-year-old boy from Texas was beaten up so severely by his mother’s boyfriend that he was left in a vegetative state and can feel nothing but pain, said the family.
Thomas Sullivan was rushed to the intensive care unit of the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston in September 2018 for his injuries resulting from the abuse. The toddler suffered from severe head trauma, a lacerated liver, multiple fractures, and burns, reported the Daily Mail. Doctors say the child will endure permanent mental and physical disabilities due to the abuse.
Thomas’s 3-year-old sister, Amery, also suffered similar abuse and sustained multiple injuries to her stomach as well as fractures to her pelvis and ribs. Sullivan told Metro that the 3-year-old had been kicked in the stomach and had to undergo kidney surgery to repair her organs.
Police arrested Adam Thomas, the boyfriend of the children’s mother, last autumn. They also discovered that the 28-year-old had a prior history of abusing and burning other young children similar in age to Amery and Thomas, reported the news website.
The 26-year-old mother eventually cooperated with the police, testified against her boyfriend, and admitted to authorities about failing to seek care for the siblings. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison on March 7, reported the news website.
Epoch Times reporter Janita Kan contributed to this report.
