Father accused of suffocating son, 6, against couch
ENGLEWOOD, Fla. -- Authorities say a 6-year-old Florida boy is dead after his father pinned him against a couch while the man and his girlfriend played video games Christmas Eve.
Local media outlets report that 31-year-old James Dearman was charged Thursday with aggravated manslaughter of a child.
A Sarasota County Sheriff's Office report says Dearman and his live-in girlfriend told the victim and his 7-year-old brother to go to bed but the boys continue to run around. Dearman's girlfriend told deputies that the father eventually became angry and used his full body weight to pin his younger son to the couch.
The boy screamed that he couldn't breathe and asked to use the bathroom, eventually urinating on the couch, reports CBS affiliate WTSP. Dearman and his girlfriend reportedly left the child on the couch, and went to the garage to smoke a cigarette.
The report says the couple eventually realized the child wasn't breathing, so Dearman called 911 and began performing CPR. The boy was later pronounced dead at Englewood Hospital.
Responding deputies reported seeing bruising on the child's back, reports the station.
Dearman was being held on $1 million bail. Jail records didn't list an attorney.