FRAYSER, TN — A Tennessee mother admitted to beating and choking her 10-year-old son, but she said he was the one who grabbed a kitchen knife and fatally stabbed himself.
“My heart is hurting from that because I used to see him all the time,” neighbor Traimaine King told WMC.
Neighbors said what happened to 10-year-old Jaheem McKinzie was tragic. He died over the weekend.
According to police, his mom said he got so angry then went inside the kitchen, grabbed a knife and stabbed himself in his chest.
Minutes before, police say his mom confessed to choking him then beating him with an extension cord. It all happened at their Frayser apartment on Saturday.
“It’s very sad. When I say it’s very sad, I see this young man every day. I see him playing with the kids,” King said.
His mom, Robin McKinzie, is charged with aggravated child abuse and endangerment.
She is not being charged in his death.
Jaheem was a 4th grader at Cornerstone Denver Prep. Many parents say this is a wake-up call.
“This right here makes me have a strong hold, more of a strong hold on my daughter,” King said.
But it also begs the question, did his mom go too far with corporal punishment? It depends on who you ask.
“I ain’t gonna tell a lie like he bad – cuz he is. But he bad like any boy would be at his age. So therefore she didn’t mean no harm in it,” King said.
Article Source: Mom admits choking, beating son before boy killed himself