A Georgia man received a heaping life sentence plus 50 years in prison for the death of a boy forced to hold buckets of paint for hours outside on a hot June day, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Prosecutors announced last week Omar Andrew Pitts pleaded guilty to murder, felony murder and aggravated sexual battery among other charges for the June 17, 2010 death of Jay'tavious Mahone.
A medical examiner determined the child died of blunt force trauma. Fulton County prosecutors said Pitts kicked Jay'tavious mercilessly after he collapsed from heatstroke.
Jay'tavious, the little brother of Pitts' girlfriend, was ordered to stand outside with the paint cans for several hours as punishment for taking his shoes off, the AJC reported. Pitts also made the boy wear a dress and makeup, prosecutors said.
"Young Jay'tavious frequently complained of thirst and fatigue and eventually collapsed and passed out after several hours in the sun," the Fulton County District Attorney's Office said.
The victim's sister, Sabrina Powell, was also arrested after her brother's death and is currently awaiting trial.
Witnesses reported seeing Pitts, 32, repeatedly kick Jay'tavious after he crumpled to the ground.
"He was just kicking the boy, kicking the boy up in the head," neighbor Hakim Deen, who recorded part of the incident from a window, told the newspaper. Deen said he did not think the boy would die from his wounds.
Paramedics were called to the apartment complex and rushed Jay'tavious to South Fulton Medical Center but he did not survive.
Pitts, of College Park, at one point faced the death penalty but instead will spend the rest of his life in prison. He admitted to aggravated assault and cruelty to children in addition to the murder and battery charges.
