Oregon mom, 25, sentenced to life in prison for savagely beating her four-year-old son to death because he 'walked and talked gay'
Published: 19:36 EST, 18 April 2014 | Updated: 19:59 EST, 18 April 2014
A 25-year-old Oregon mother has been sentenced to life in prison for the beating murder of her four-year-old son, who slowly died of severe abuse in a homeless shelter.
Jessica Dutro was sentenced Friday after being convicted of killing her son Zachary Dutro-Burgess, with a Washington County jury hearing earlier this month that her motive for the murder was believing the little boy was gay.
Under state law, Dutro will be eligible for parole after 25 years, according to The Oregonian.
Her boyfriend, Brian Canady, was also sentenced Friday for his role in the August 2012 murder.
Canady, who received a plea deal after testifying against his girlfriend, pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault.
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Abuser: Jessica Dutro (left) was found guilty of murdering her fouryear-old son Zachary because she thought he was gay and has been sentenced to life in prison for the crime
Jessica Dutro, 25, is charged in the death of her 4-year-old son, Zachary Dutro-Boggess in Hillsboro, Oregon, on April 1, 2014
Too young: Zachary died in August 2012 after being beaten so severely his intestines tore, slowly causing a deadly infection
He received a sentence of 12 and a half years in prison.
On August 14, 2012, Jessica Dutro and her boyfriend called 911 to report that her son was unconscious after collapsing at Good Neighbor Center, a family homeless shelter in which the couple lived with Dutro's three children.
Little Zachary, who just turned four the day before, was rushed to a Portland hospital where doctors diagnosed him with blunt-force trauma to the abdomen, which caused his bowels to tear.
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He died of blunt-force trauma to his abdomen and delay in medical treatment, prosecutors said.
In shocking evidence revealed in court, Dutro wrote to her boyfriend on Facebook to tell him she feared her son was gay, using a slur: 'He walks and talks like it. Ugh.'
Canady would have to 'work on' Zachary, she wrote.
Former couple: Both Dutro and her boyfriend Brian Canady, 25 (right), were charged in Zachary's death, but Canady escaped murder charges by taking a plea deal, agreeing to testify against his girlfriend
Crime scene: Zachary Dutro-Boggess was found unconscious August 14, 2012, in the homeless shelter Good Neighbor Center in Tigard, Oregon
The message established Dutro's motive for inflicting a pattern of abuse, prosecutor Megan Johnson said.
Dutro assaulted all three of her children, but Zachary received the harshest treatment, authorities said.
The judge ruled additional web searches done by Dutro were also admissible, The Oregonian reported.
On August 16, 2012, the day her son was taken off life support, Miss Dutro searched terms such as anger management and parenting classes, prosecutors said.
She also searched listings for free stuff and sex with strangers, they said.
Earlier last month, Canady pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault for his role in the homicide after agreeing to testify against Dutro as a witness for the prosecution.
Admission of guilt: Brian Canady (center) pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault earlier this month. He has now been sentenced to 12 and a half years prison
Under the plea agreement, the more serious charges against him, including four counts of murder by abuse and one count of second-degree assault, have been dropped.
When questioned by detectives, the man admitted that he had kicked Zachary in the stomach because the boy wanted to take off his shoes before sitting down to watch TV, as Canady had ordered him.
During a hearing last month, the jury got to hear an audio recording of an interview that detectives had conducted with Miss Dutro's 7-year-old daughter, who described how her mother and Canady allegedly hit and punched Zachary until he 'got dead.'
The girl also told police that the couple often hit her and her siblings for 'not being good.'
The 7-year-old recounted how her brother was repeatedly struck by his parents for not listening until he got sick.
Plea deal: Canady agreed to testify against his girlfriend in exchange for the more serious charges against him being dropped. He was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault
The boy eventually stopped breathing, but his sister told police that Dutro and her boyfriend 'didn’t tell anybody.'
On the morning of August 14, Dutro placed Zachary in the shower because he had wet himself, but the child's body was limp and his eyes rolled.
Dr. Danny Leonhardt, who examined Zachary, testified that by the time his parents sought medical help for the toddler, he 'essentially was dead.'
Leonhardt said that the contents of his torn intestines had leaked out into his body for at least two days, resulting in a deadly infection.
Besides the injuries to Zachary’s abdomen similar to those seen in car crash victims, the child's body was covered in bruises suggesting prolonged, repeated abuse.
Leonhardt said that in the hospital, he caught a glimpse of Zachary's 3-year-old brother and said that the child's face was covered in scrapes. An exam later showed that the toddler had five broken ribs in various stages of healing.
The physician evaluated the victim’s siblings and concluded that all of them had been abused, save for Dutro and Canady's infant son.
finally some good parenting, none of that my little pony shyt in my house
- Zachary Dutro-Boggess, 4, died in August 2012 after being beaten so severely his intestines tore
- Mother Jessica Dutro, 25, was found guilty of his murder
- On Friday she was sentenced to life in prison
- Dutro's boyfriend, Brian Canady, 25, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault, and agreed to testify against the mother
- He was sentenced to 12 and a half years prison
- Dutro sent a Facebook message to Canady saying that Zachary 'walks and talks like it [gay]', and that the boyfriend would have to 'work on' him
- Doctor who examined four-year-old testified that contents of his ripped bowels leaked into his body for at least two days
Published: 19:36 EST, 18 April 2014 | Updated: 19:59 EST, 18 April 2014
A 25-year-old Oregon mother has been sentenced to life in prison for the beating murder of her four-year-old son, who slowly died of severe abuse in a homeless shelter.
Jessica Dutro was sentenced Friday after being convicted of killing her son Zachary Dutro-Burgess, with a Washington County jury hearing earlier this month that her motive for the murder was believing the little boy was gay.
Under state law, Dutro will be eligible for parole after 25 years, according to The Oregonian.
Her boyfriend, Brian Canady, was also sentenced Friday for his role in the August 2012 murder.
Canady, who received a plea deal after testifying against his girlfriend, pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault.
+9
Abuser: Jessica Dutro (left) was found guilty of murdering her fouryear-old son Zachary because she thought he was gay and has been sentenced to life in prison for the crime
Jessica Dutro, 25, is charged in the death of her 4-year-old son, Zachary Dutro-Boggess in Hillsboro, Oregon, on April 1, 2014
Too young: Zachary died in August 2012 after being beaten so severely his intestines tore, slowly causing a deadly infection
He received a sentence of 12 and a half years in prison.
On August 14, 2012, Jessica Dutro and her boyfriend called 911 to report that her son was unconscious after collapsing at Good Neighbor Center, a family homeless shelter in which the couple lived with Dutro's three children.
Little Zachary, who just turned four the day before, was rushed to a Portland hospital where doctors diagnosed him with blunt-force trauma to the abdomen, which caused his bowels to tear.
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He died of blunt-force trauma to his abdomen and delay in medical treatment, prosecutors said.
In shocking evidence revealed in court, Dutro wrote to her boyfriend on Facebook to tell him she feared her son was gay, using a slur: 'He walks and talks like it. Ugh.'
Canady would have to 'work on' Zachary, she wrote.
Former couple: Both Dutro and her boyfriend Brian Canady, 25 (right), were charged in Zachary's death, but Canady escaped murder charges by taking a plea deal, agreeing to testify against his girlfriend
Crime scene: Zachary Dutro-Boggess was found unconscious August 14, 2012, in the homeless shelter Good Neighbor Center in Tigard, Oregon
The message established Dutro's motive for inflicting a pattern of abuse, prosecutor Megan Johnson said.
Dutro assaulted all three of her children, but Zachary received the harshest treatment, authorities said.
The judge ruled additional web searches done by Dutro were also admissible, The Oregonian reported.
On August 16, 2012, the day her son was taken off life support, Miss Dutro searched terms such as anger management and parenting classes, prosecutors said.
She also searched listings for free stuff and sex with strangers, they said.
Earlier last month, Canady pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault for his role in the homicide after agreeing to testify against Dutro as a witness for the prosecution.
Admission of guilt: Brian Canady (center) pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault earlier this month. He has now been sentenced to 12 and a half years prison
Under the plea agreement, the more serious charges against him, including four counts of murder by abuse and one count of second-degree assault, have been dropped.
When questioned by detectives, the man admitted that he had kicked Zachary in the stomach because the boy wanted to take off his shoes before sitting down to watch TV, as Canady had ordered him.
During a hearing last month, the jury got to hear an audio recording of an interview that detectives had conducted with Miss Dutro's 7-year-old daughter, who described how her mother and Canady allegedly hit and punched Zachary until he 'got dead.'
The girl also told police that the couple often hit her and her siblings for 'not being good.'
The 7-year-old recounted how her brother was repeatedly struck by his parents for not listening until he got sick.
Plea deal: Canady agreed to testify against his girlfriend in exchange for the more serious charges against him being dropped. He was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault
The boy eventually stopped breathing, but his sister told police that Dutro and her boyfriend 'didn’t tell anybody.'
On the morning of August 14, Dutro placed Zachary in the shower because he had wet himself, but the child's body was limp and his eyes rolled.
Dr. Danny Leonhardt, who examined Zachary, testified that by the time his parents sought medical help for the toddler, he 'essentially was dead.'
Leonhardt said that the contents of his torn intestines had leaked out into his body for at least two days, resulting in a deadly infection.
Besides the injuries to Zachary’s abdomen similar to those seen in car crash victims, the child's body was covered in bruises suggesting prolonged, repeated abuse.
Leonhardt said that in the hospital, he caught a glimpse of Zachary's 3-year-old brother and said that the child's face was covered in scrapes. An exam later showed that the toddler had five broken ribs in various stages of healing.
The physician evaluated the victim’s siblings and concluded that all of them had been abused, save for Dutro and Canady's infant son.
finally some good parenting, none of that my little pony shyt in my house
