Officials confirmed Monday that the death of an 11-year-old kid at an Extended Stay America motel near Old Town Scottsdale is being investigated as a murder.
Shortly before 5 pm, authorities got a medical call concerning a non-responsive individual. According to Sgt. Kevin Quon, a Scottsdale Police Department spokeswoman arrived at the motel at the intersection of Goldwater Boulevard and Osborn Road on Sunday.
Boy died at Scottsdale motel
The boy was found with "serious injuries" and was rushed to a local hospital, where he was confirmed dead on arrival. On suspicion of child abuse and homicide, Stephanie Davis, 51, and her husband, Thomas Desharnais, 33, were detained.
According to the Scottsdale Police Department, Davis is the boy's biological grandmother. Based on evidence from police interviews, the matter is being regarded as a homicide investigation.
The inquiry was taken up by Scottsdale police investigators. As of midday Monday, detectives were still gathering evidence on the site. The accused had another child in their care, according to the police. The Arizona Department of Youngster Safety has seized care of this child. A $3.5 million cash bond has been placed on Davis's head. A $1.5 million cash bond is being held against Desharnais, according to the Arizona Republic.
According to court filings, Davis was administering CPR when first responders arrived; the kid was declared dead at a local hospital less than two hours later, according to KPHO. A 9-year-old kid, another grandson of Davis, was also seen on the scene with bruises around his eyes and a facial injury.
Davis, was allegedly physically, verbally, and emotionally abusive to her grandsons, who are half-brothers. According to investigators, she took custody of the boys in 2015 and they had been residing in the Scottdale Extended Stay America motel since then.
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Arizona grandmother reportedly abuses grandson prior to death
According to court filings, the mother of the boys is a wanted homicide suspect. The father of the youngster who died is unknown while the father of the 9-year-old is in prison for child abuse in another state. Davis was not the only one that was detained. According to police, Davis's husband, Thomas James Desharnais, 33, was aware of the assault but did nothing to stop it, and was present on Sunday.
The 11-year-old kid, according to Davis, had a history of self-injury and "had been hurting himself all day." She said that the youngster sliced his genitals after hitting himself in the head with a wrench in the toilet. She claimed to have hidden the wrench and cleaned the knife, but she and Desharnais did not seek medical care for the boy.
Instead, she bathed the youngster and left him alone after that. He was unresponsive when she returned. She stated she started CPR and emptied the tub. Desharnais, on the other hand, gave a completely different story. He told investigators that Davis molested both boys regularly and that the abuse was growing worse, according to court filings.
His wife, he claims, used to force the kid to sleep in the bathtub and refused him food and drink. He claims she struck both boys with a wooden broom and bent their fingers with needle-nose pliers. He further said that Davis frequently informed the youngsters that they were nothing more valuable than dirt or a dog.
Asserting that the evidence against her was just circumstantial and that those children were always taken care of, Davis made her first court appearance on Tuesday. She also stated that she had talked with her husband before the hearing and that he had expressed his dissatisfaction with the way he was being treated.
There have been previous allegations of alleged mistreatment dating back to 2017, when the youngster was injured at Chaskah School, according to KPHO. After that, the boys were not enrolled in school. There were three separate investigations, but they were all halted due to a lack of evidence, Crime Online reported.
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