PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh man was sentenced Monday to 23-47 years in prison for beating his girlfriend’s son to death in February 2012.
A jury found Anthony Bush guilty in February of third-degree murder. Prosecutors said Bush was upset with 11-year-old Donovan McKee for refusing to vacuum their Knoxville apartment, and he beat him for nine hours with a pipe, barbells, belts and sticks.
Authorities said Bush attempted to stitch up McKee's wounds with a crooked needle and thread before the boy died.
“The type of pain and suffering my nephew experienced, it was terrible. I wish that pain on nobody,” McKee’s aunt, Crystal McKee, said.
The judge told Bush during his sentencing, “I can’t think of anything worse than this. You inflicted a lifetime of hell in just a few hours when you beat that child over and over. My only regret in this case is that you weren’t convicted of first-degree murder.”
Crystal McKee told Channel 11’s Cara Sapida that she would have wanted a life sentence with no possibility of parole for Bush.
The boy's mother, Cynthia McKee, 31, was later charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child.
Authorities said in a criminal complaint that McKee called for help after finding the child unresponsive, but not until more than an hour and a half had passed. A forensic pathologist told police that he believed the boy might have survived had he gotten help earlier.
McKee pleaded guilty in January to involuntary manslaughter.
Previous Stories:
- Police: Boy endured hours of beating before death; Family talks to Channel 11
- Man apologizes for boy's beating death, says 'I'm a monster
- Jury finds man guilty of beating 11-year-old to death with sticks, barbells, belt
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