KINGS BAY, GA. (THECOUNT) — Jonathan Harrell, 24, and Latoya Harrell, 23, are charged with first-degree child cruelty after a video surfaced of a female severely abusing a 7-month-old child.
The couple, who reside in the Kings Bay Housing Community section of Naval Submarine Base, were arrested after Camden County Sheriff’s Office deputies viewed a video of the woman torturing a 7-month-old boy as she taunts the male who was filming, during an apparent domestic dispute.
|
Advertisement |
According to the report, the male half was filming while his wife can be seen pouring water on their baby as he lay on a bed. “This appeared to be done by Mrs. Harrell in an attempt to provoke Mr. Harrell,” the report said.
The boy can be seen gasping for air as he coughs and gags on the liquid.
Latoya Harrell then grabs “a belt or scarf typed object” and ties a noose around the baby’s neck, pulling him into the air and dangling him by his neck over the bed, according to the report. Deputies said the baby’s eyes could be seen bulging and watering in the video because of the object around his neck.
After Latoya Harrell drops the baby back on the bed and walks out, Jonathan Harrell follows her, still filming, and the baby is left alone in the room “after these life-threatening events,” deputies wrote in the report. source
The male half continued to film the incident on his phone and not only failed to intervene, but also followed the woman out of a room leaving the injured baby alone, deputies said.
The baby and two other children in the home were taken into custody by the Division of Family and Children Services.
Kings Bay officials said Jonathan Harrell was transferred to the base in December 2017. His wife is not with the Navy.
Deputies said when they went into the home they found large holes in the walls, doors that appeared to have been kicked off their hinges, dirty diapers strewn throughout the house, busted glass on the floor, rotting food in the trash and flies and roaches in the kitchen.
Kings Bay is a small unincorporated community located at 30.804 N, 81.560 W in Camden County on the southern coast of the U.S. state of Georgia, according to Wikipedia.