Man beats 6-year-old stepson to death with a metal bat in front of his family, police say

Connecticut police say a man beat his 6-year-old stepson to death with a metal bat in an attack on his family in Bridgeport.

The family of 6-year-old Jathan Escobar told WFSB-TV that he was hospitalized with brain damage and on life support before he was pronounced dead on Wednesday.

'No matter what was going on, he was always so happy with everybody.'

Police said that the boy's 38-year-old stepfather, Abdulrahim Sulaiman, was arrested and charged with murder with special circumstances.

Sulaiman's 33-year-old wife told police she only knew him for about a year and they had been married for months. She claimed that the man had been smoking PCP recently and was violent.

The man allegedly attacked his wife and her children on Sept. 25 with the metal bat while the mother screamed for help from their apartment on Main Street.

When police arrived and gave the child CPR, they said they could see brain matter through the injury in his head.

Police said Sulaiman had been on probation and had a violent criminal record. Prior to the death of the child and the elevation of the charges to murder, his bond had been increased from $1 million to $10 million.

“He was always so happy and he just enjoyed life altogether. No matter what was going on, he was always so happy with everybody,” said the victim's cousin Sasha Heron of the boy.

A report about the incident can be viewed on YouTube.

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