Ethan, exhausted and weak, stumbled under the weight of the massive log. Instead of offering mercy, Damian responded with unimaginable cruelty.

According to court records, Damian struck Ethan repeatedly—over 100 times. As the young boy collapsed, Damian forced his face into a cold puddle, standing on his fragile head with his full weight. But his torment did not stop there. Damian packed Ethan inside an 80-pound mound of snow and left him there for 20 to 30 minutes—without a coat, without warmth, and without hope.

By the time Ethan was pulled from the snow, his small body had already begun to shut down. He was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late. Ethan was pronounced dead, his cause of death listed as hypothermia—though his tiny body was covered in bruises, blunt force trauma, and other injuries from the savage beatings he endured.

The people who were supposed to protect him had instead sentenced him to a slow, painful death.