MT - James Hurley, 12, tortured to death, W. Yellowstone, Feb 2020 grandparents & uncle arrested #1

[PinkPrincessPoop]

A 12-year-old Montana boy was found dead in a living room; police say grandparents and uncle 'tortured' him - CNN

The grandparents and uncle of a 12-year-old boy in Montana have been charged in connection with his death after police say they found evidence of them torturing the child.

Videos found by police show a pattern of abuse that included forced exercises and physical abuse, according to court documents.

James Alex Hurley had been living with his grandparents, James Sasser Jr. and Patricia Batts, for the last two years. Also in the home were the couple's children, including their 14-year-old son, who was James' uncle. The uncle is being charged as a minor.

Detectives found video from about two years ago in which James "appeared to be a healthy and well fed boy," court documents said. At the time of his death, detectives said James "appeared to be emaciated," according to the documents.

"I believe the systematic torture and beatings are perpetrated on the victim in this case that led to his death," Bjorn Boyer, deputy county attorney with the Gallatin County Attorney's Office, told CNN affiliate KTVH-TV.

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Investigators: videos of James Alex Hurley, 12, appearing being tortured by members of his extended family before his death

According to charging documents, On Feb. 3, 2020 a Gallatin /County Sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to a home on Buffalo Drive in West Yellowstone for the unattended death of a 12-year-old child.

The deputy found circumstances surrounding the death suspicious and he requested assistance from the detective division after he observed the boy had multiple wounds and contusions all over his body.

During various interviews, detectives determined Hurley had been taken out of school in Sept. 2019. Court documents state it appears that very few people have had contact with the boy in the last several months outside the family.

[SBM and BBM for concision and emphasis. A lot more info in the links. I hope I did this right as it is the first time for me. Thank you.]

 

[NuttMegg]

I was just reading that.

Some excerpts:
"The detective noted in court documents that the boy was approximately 103 lbs and 5’3, while the 14-year-old uncle was approximately 300 lbs and 6’ tall."

"Another video from Jan. 17, 2020 on the 14-year-old uncle’s phone shows Hurley standing in front of the fan in his underwear. Batts can allegedly be heard telling him, “Oh, you’re not even a human, you’re some kind of thing.” (Batts is the grandmother)

"On Jan. 17, 2020 Sasser III texted Sasser Jr. at 8:07 a.m. “I’m gonna end up killing him today.”

On Jan. 27, the 14-year-old searched for “what was the longest coma?” On Feb. 2, 2020 he searched for “what are the symptoms of brain injury?” “Concussion symptoms” and “how do you tell if someone has a concussion?”

Investigators: videos of James Alex Hurley, 12, appearing being tortured by members of his extended family before his death

 

[Hippiemomof5]

Oh my word, that poor boy. How heartless of his family.

 

[NuttMegg]

Another West Yellowstone man charged in connection to 12-year-old's death

"During the investigation into Hurley’s death, Gallatin County Sheriff’s deputies found a video on Hurley’s uncle’s phone recorded in January that showed Roush striking Hurley with a wooden paddle, according to charging documents. Hurley can be seen crying and heard screaming “I (expletive) hate this.”

Sasser III told detectives that Roush was the man in the video hitting Hurley, court documents say.


A detective saw Roush at Hurley’s grandparents’ hearing in court on Thursday.

Roush admitted to detectives that he was the person in the video hitting Hurley, according to charging documents. Roush said he also forced Hurley to remain sitting against a wall while he hit Hurley."

 

[NuttMegg]

“Systematic torture” - Sheriff, friends weigh in on West Yellowstone boy’s death

"Batts' friend says there was a breaking point.

“I knew something was wrong and I encouraged her repeatedly to get him some help and have him put somewhere and she just really expressed that she just did not like him,” says the woman.

Investigators found places in the home where large amounts of blood were cleaned with vinegar.

Then, they found videos.

“She (Batts) is on a lot of the videos that show the torture to this young boy,” Boyer says. “She’s in the videos seen strangling the boy.”

 

[Barnabas]

My God

 

[PinkPrincessPoop]

It says he was taken out of school in September. I wonder if teachers and/or other kids started asking around about his various wounds.

 

[Luckyzmom]

How does this happen and not one "family" member reaches out for help of any kind ? Was Mom totally unaware of any of this ? Imaginable what this young man went through, alone in a house full of "family "...MOO sickening and heartbreaking

 

[SaguaroSpirit]

How does this happen and not one "family" member reaches out for help of any kind ? Was Mom totally unaware of any of this ? Imaginable what this young man went through, alone in a house full of "family "...MOO sickening and heartbreaking

“Systematic torture” - Sheriff, friends weigh in on West Yellowstone boy’s death
This article says that his mom was kept from contact with him by the "grandmother". Basically the same thing has happened to me in the past with family members so I sort of know how that goes.

 

[PinkPrincessPoop]

Yes, it says the mom tried to contact the family multiple times and they prevented contact. Once you successfully get a child isolated from everyone, I think it's very hard for anyone outside to make contact with them again. We must work hard to prevent child isolation. MOO.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

What is happening all around us? This is insanity! Was all this stuff happening before we had instant news and we just didn’t hear about it as much? Yes. It makes me want to scream!

 

[NuttMegg]

What is happening all around us? This is insanity! Was all this stuff happening before we had instant news and we just didn’t hear about it as much? Yes. It makes me want to scream!

I don't get it either, how can anyone "get it". They (some in the family) are saying in those articles that he was troubled, but then if that is true you get help, contact the mother, etc. I'd be troubled too if 3 or 4 people were constantly torturing me. (alleged) There was an older teen aunt, and another very young uncle, why didn't they say anything? Can you imagine being 12 and knowing that all the power dealers in the house were torturing you, the teen uncle was 3 times heavier than James, and 9" taller. (per allegations from LE) Where was he supposed to go to get away from them? (All of this is in the articles I linked to, above).

 

[PinkPrincessPoop]

What is happening all around us? This is insanity! Was all this stuff happening before we had instant news and we just didn’t hear about it as much? Yes. It makes me want to scream!

The silver lining is the instant news and the media makes it easier to catch these people. Thanks to these horrific torture videos, I expect justice will be appropriate and swift. In the past, we would just have these people continuing to walk amongst us and cause more harm, acting as if nothing happened. Now, they will be put away. And James will be remembered.

 

[NuttMegg]

The silver lining is the instant news and the media makes it easier to catch these people. Thanks to these horrific torture videos, I expect justice will be appropriate and swift. In the past, we would just have these people continuing to walk amongst us and cause more harm, acting as if nothing happened. Now, they will be put away. And James will be remembered.

I'm surprised they even called 911 instead of dumping him somewhere.

 

[Damarna]

I'm speechless. Each day is just another tragic ending for a child.

 

[SaguaroSpirit]

This reminds me of the Sylvia Likens case.

 

[mickey2942]

It says he was taken out of school in September. I wonder if teachers and/or other kids started asking around about his various wounds.

"Home Schooling". Once again.
Investigators: videos show boy being tortured by members of his family before his death

How many times have we seen "home Schooling" involved with abused and dead children? Something needs to change. There should be more oversight and monitoring of children who are homeschooled.

Why did these people take videos of abusing a child? Great evidence. But it is beyond depraved.

 

[mickey2942]

I'm surprised they even called 911 instead of dumping him somewhere.

Great question. They could have easily dumped him, and said that he ran away.

I wonder if the Grandmother was also abused, and possibly feared that her children would be the next victims. She probably wanted the 300 pound adult male, who seemed to be the primary abuser, gone, and out of the house. Not giving her a pass, but she may have also been a victim here.

 

[mickey2942]

Yes, it says the mom tried to contact the family multiple times and they prevented contact. Once you successfully get a child isolated from everyone, I think it's very hard for anyone outside to make contact with them again. We must work hard to prevent child isolation. MOO.

I wonder why the Mother never contacted LEO for a welfare check?

 

[shotgun09]

From what I have read, that poor boy's life was like living in a non-stop horror movie for the past two years. So sad.