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Two-Year-Old Boy Killed for Spilling Milk, Prosecutors Say

Jovani Martinez (Credit: CBS58)

Racine, Wis (CBS/AP) According to a criminal complaint filed Monday afternoon, 2-year-old Jovani Martinez was killed by his mother's boyfriend over spilled milk. Prosecutors say that 40-year-old Manual Garcia punched Jovani at least three times, because the boy wouldn't keep still.

The boyfriend said, according to the complaint, that he didn't mean to kill Jovani, but that he got angry because the toddler kept shaking his bottle and getting milk on his newborn sister, says CBS affiliate CBS58. The medical examiner found that Jovani died from perforated intestines, a lacerated liver and pancreas, and broken ribs.

The boy's mother and her boyfriend are in the Racine County Jail, south of Milwaukee, charged in connection with his beating death. Garcia is charged with first-degree reckless homicide for allegedly inflicting the fatal injuries. The toddler's mother, 24-year-old Lawanda D. Martinez, has been charged with child neglect resulting in death and with possession of marijuana. Bond has been set at $300,000 for Garcia and $75,000 for Martinez.

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