TN - Levi Beaty, 17 mos, beaten to death, Wartburg, 1 June 2014 *Arrests*

The report says the 17-month-old died of chest trauma due to a rupture of the aorta, the body's main artery. Medical examiners say this was the consequence of multiple blunt force injuries caused by child abuse.

The autopsy notes that a number of recent and older blunt force injuries were seen on the child's body, including injuries to his face, a fracture of his lumbar spine, and other bone and muscular injuries.

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The child's mother, 29-year-old Amanda Beaty, and her boyfriend, 42-year-old Rodger Dale Prince, were each indicted on a murder charge last month by a Morgan County grand jury. They have pleaded not guilty.

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Beaty contends her youngest son had a blood disorder that weakened him and says his medical records will clear her and boyfriend Rodger Prince, 42, of any wrongdoing.

"Let me have my kids back and let us grieve," she said. "They didn't even let them attend their baby brother's funeral. People are talking about us, slandering our names."...

A preliminary autopsy report prepared by Dr. William Bennett revealed the child died from multiple blunt-force trauma injuries, including a spinal fracture and severe damage to his thoracic aorta artery.

"That could happen during CPR," Beaty said...

"His heart gave out," she said. "Levi was in complete cardiac arrest when he got to the ER. In bold letters in their domestic violence survey it says 'Negative,' meaning there are no signs of blunt-force trauma to Levi."

But Levi and his siblings have twice been removed from their mother's custody in the year before Levi died.

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Amanda Beaty, 29, and Rodger Dale Prince II, 42, both are charged with the first-degree murder of Levi Ryan Beaty following a three-month probe by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, according to District Attorney General Russell Johnson’s office.

A sheriff’s deputy responded to Beaty’s Wartburg home to find the boy unresponsive after Prince and Beaty claimed the child choked on a cookie.
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His mother Amanda Beaty said he choked on a cookie, but that didn’t match up with what the medical examiner found. Beaty’s boyfriend Rodger Prince was at the scene, but investigators said he was under orders not to be around.

Beaty now admits she has lied about one detail in the case because she wasn’t sure if she would be in trouble with DCS for Prince being around Levi. She says she told investigators and the media that Prince had just come to her apartment when Levi collapsed, but she says the truth is he was actually watching Levi that night while she ran to the store...

She gave 6 News Levi’s medical records dating back to October of 2013, which show he had a history of bruising, fractures, tooth injuries, a blood disorder, a milk allergy and severe eczema, among other things.

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Beaty arrived from jail wearing shackles on her feet, while Prince is still out on bond.
Prince’s attorney Robert Vogel asked the judge to modify the conditions of the bond so Prince can return to work as a truck driver and leave the state as needed for his job...

The judge agreed to let Prince travel out of state for work, and denied the prosecution’s request to have Prince wear a monitoring device...

Beaty’s other two children are living with their father Wesley Beaty. He says he filed a wrongful death suit on both Amanda Beaty and Rodger Prince.

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the child’s mother and the mother’s boyfriend, were previously under investigation by DCS. The child was just returned to her custody three weeks before his death.

According to the letter from the District Attorney, DCS investigated an incident in November and removed Levy from his mother’s custody.

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Trials will begin on Feb. 23 for Amanda Beaty, and her boyfriend Rodger Prince.

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A trial date has been set for one of the two people accused in the 2014 murder of Baby Levi, while a trial for the other suspect is expected to be scheduled in about one month.

Rodger Prince will face charges of first-degree murder in a Feb. 21, 2017, trial with a motion date scheduled for Sept. 26, 2016. Prince appeared in Morgan County Criminal Court to receive these dates, although he was not required to approach the bench during the hearing.

Prince, was the boyfriend of Amanda Beaty, the mother of Baby Levi, who is also charged in the infant’s death. A trial date for Beaty’s case has not been set, but is expected to be done during a June 30 hearing, according to prosecutors with the state.

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The accused killer of Baby Levi appeared before a judge in Morgan County earlier this week for a status hearing. The hearing for Roger Prince was rescheduled for Sept. 17, 2017. It will be the same date that the child’s mother, Amanda Beaty is set to appear in court for the same case. In fact, several status hearings have been reset for the case.

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A trial date has been set by Morgan County Criminal Court Judge Jeff Wicks for Oct. 16 of this year in the case involving the death of baby Levi Beaty.

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Amanda Beaty and Rodger Dale Prince were convicted of two counts each of the first degree felony-murder of Beaty's son whose death occurred in June of 2014.

Morgan County Criminal Court Judge Jeff Wicks immediately rendered life sentences to both defendants upon receiving a guilty verdict.

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