BELLEFONTAINE (AP) — A coroner says numerous head injuries and bleeding caused the death of a 5-year-old boy whose father told police he used a plastic wand from window blinds to hit the child.
Franklin County Chief Deputy Coroner Dr. J. Scott Somerset said in Bellefontaine Municipal Court on Tuesday 5-year-old Michael Barton had countless other bruises on the rest of his body.
Twenty-four-year-old Anthony Barton is charged with murder in his son’s May 20 death. A Logan County grand jury will hear evidence next week.
Bellefontaine police say Barton admitted he used the plastic wand to hit Michael, but said the bruises on the boy’s head came from a fall at a park several days earlier. The Springfield News-Sun reports (http://bit.ly/1K9gq0z) Barton’s attorneys argued the boy’s fall could’ve ultimately caused his death.
