A 5-year-old Milwaukee boy died from his injuries after his father angrily punched him for eating his Father’s Day cheesecake.
According to WALB News 10, 29-year-old father of five Travis Stackhouse, who appeared in court on Thursday has been charged with one count of first-degree reckless homicide with his bail set at $100,000.
The severity of the victim’s injuries, which included bruises on his eyes, a cut on his lip, cuts on his back as well as fatal abdominal trauma were revealed in the criminal court complaint.
“This baby was little, tiny, close to 20 pounds or so and you doing all that? It’s ridiculous,” the victim’s aunt told WALB News 10. “I can’t even process a kid going through that.”
The incident, which occurred on June 21, was reported by the boy’s caretakers who initially claimed he fell down the stairs. The police, however, did not believe those claims as it couldn’t be corroborated with the severity and extent of the boy’s injury and autopsy results.
After further interrogation by the police, Stackhouse confessed to punching the boy in the face and stomach because he got angry when he found out he had eaten his only piece of Father’s Day cake.
“I can’t fathom that I can’t even put that in the same sentence and then over some cake, are you serious?” the boy’s aunt further told WALB News 10.
According to People Magazine, court documents reveal that Travis claimed that the victim, Sir Stackhouse, was upstairs playing with one of his siblings when he came “somersaulting down the stairwell.” He further alleged that though he did not sustain any injuries from the fall, he later complained he wasn’t feeling well and subsequently vomited.
Travis added that it was later in the evening that he caught Sir, together with two of his siblings eating his cake. He was initially adamant he did not physically assault any of his children claiming he came home after a night’s out with friends on June 22 to meet his girlfriend on a 911 call reporting their son was unwell.
Sir’s brother, who was also questioned by the police, however, confirmed their father fatally punched him and did not fall down the stairs as initially claimed.
Travis will be back in court on July 5 for a preliminary hearing.
