A barber is accused of using a piece of lumber to fatally beat a 6-year-old after the child urinated on his pants

CALIFORNIA: Authorities say a 6-year-old boy who had poop in his trousers was killed and tortured by a barber by pounding him with a piece of lumber. According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Ernest Lamar Love, 41, has been charged with murder, torture, and child abuse resulting in death. 

Reports state that he has entered a not guilty plea to all allegations. Around 6:30 p.m. on August 29, Love was entrusted with watching Chance Crawford while his mother worked the night shift at a hospital. This is when the incident occurred.

Missing flesh

Video surveillance showed Love heading into his barber business with a large piece of raw lumber “with a reluctant Chance following behind him,” the DA’s office stated. Three hours later, at 1.30 a.m., Love allegedly took the first grader — who was unconscious and struggling to breathe — into the emergency room.

At that point, according to the DA’s office, physicians discovered injuries consistent with vigorous shaking, including severe brain swelling, open wounds, a subdural hematoma, and missing flesh from his buttocks. In addition, the six-year-old’s shoulder blade was fractured.

Love was charged by the prosecution with beating the first-grader with the piece of timber, covering the open wounds with hydrogen peroxide, and making the youngster perform push-ups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks. According to the authorities, the barber was upset that the youngster got wet while at a Placentia park.

Crawford passed away due to his wound

According to the DA’s office, Love drove the youngster to the medical room after the child passed out after the alleged attack rather than dialing 911. Crawford passed away on September 3 from his wounds. Love is incarcerated with no bond. According to the DA’s office, he may receive a maximum sentence of life in prison plus five years if all accusations are found to be true.

DA Todd Spitzer said in a statement that “Chance’s seat in his classroom was empty as he fought for his life in a hospital bed, while his new classmates were celebrating the end of the first week of first grade.”

Spitzer went on, “There are no words to express the sheer horror this young child had to experience—all at the hands of someone who was meant to be shielding him, not torturing him into death. As prosecutors, we will now stop at nothing to bring Little Chance justice and provide the protection in death that he was unable to receive during his lifetime.