Couple Charged With Tying Son To Tree

(AP)  A couple accused of killing their 13-year-old son by tying him to a tree for two nights for punishment appeared in a North Carolina courtroom Monday to face charges of murder and felony child abuse.

Attorneys appeared Monday with Brice Brian McMillan, 41, and his wife Sandra Elizabeth McMillan, 36, of Macclesfield.

"It's a sad case," defense attorney Allen Powell, who represents Brice McMillian, said after the hearing. He declined any further comment, and the two did not enter a plea.

The county sheriff's office has said Brice McMillan told a deputy the teen was being disobedient and was forced to sleep outside last Tuesday while tied to a tree. The teen was released Wednesday morning, but again tied up that night for bad behavior.

Sheriff James Knight has said the boy was left tied to the tree until the following afternoon, when his stepmother found him unresponsive. Authorities believe the boy was bound to the tree with plastic ties and possibly other kinds of material.

Arrest warrants for both McMillans said the child sustained "bruising to the wrist, cuts to entire body, missing flesh from buttocks, results from being tied to a tree for approximately 18 hours resulting in death."

The warrants didn't reveal a specific cause of death. An autopsy is pending at the state's chief medical examiner's office in Chapel Hill.

Two other children living in the McMillans in the home, ages 7 and 9, have been placed in the custody of the Department of Social Services, authorities said.

Macclesfield is about an hour east of Raleigh.

[blackyowe]

We do have some real winners in the country. These people should go to prison for life or be tied to a tree for two days. Their choice.

[staycalm]

Wow...in the last couple of days a baby was stomped to death by its father, a five year old was horrifically tortured by his mother and her lesbian girlfriend and now this poor child, also tortured to death by his parents. What the hell is going on? If parents can''t love and protect their own children, what hope is there for the world?

[annia1233]

this is one case. what bothers me is that because people like this, most or all parents are held against the same statistics. These most be illiterate people, and the woman is NOT the mother but the step mother. From where these people get such ideas?, do they understand the human body and its fragility?, NO. Can they see what will happen if they tie a child to a tree over night? NO. So, they are illiterate, ignorants. They probably drink beer, eat pop corn and have bad breath with really bad dentures. Too bad reproductive organs work most of the time no matter how low your IQ is. Lamentable they had so many children.

[patriot12436]

vnveteran72
I went to one of those court ordered parenting classes before being awarded custody of my children who their mother did not want. I learned nothing as i was already doing everything they talked about. One of the instructors slept thru the class as did many of those ordered to attend. A total waste of time. But i agree something needs to be done about people like these.

[smurfcrusher]

These parents are sick animals and those who think that the posters [who think that the kid''''s death is something to joke about] are just as sick as the parents.

Seriously, people should think before they act. This was death by stupidity, not only because they restrained the kid, but just as much because of the weather. Just being outside without the restraints is potentially deadly in that sweltering heat.

[justsane-2009]

babykiller: ~Anyway, "problem child" just means "incompetent adult."~ i couldn''t have said it better myself...but i sort of suspect that irony is a bit beyond you.

[misspp-2009]

These parents are sick animals and the posters who think that the kid''s death is something to joke about are just as sick as the parents.

[dobbershome]

babykiller:

Your wrong. They didn''t say anything about beating him. Read the entire article next time-stupid!

[kid1800vtx]

hey atlanta1962; God is looking...and taking into account ALL that is done. He is just waiting to serve justice on his timetable..which by the way is on us like a runaway locomotive; and really now...how long will it take us to decide to execute these failures in parenting? ...if ever.. we want to know why and understand how they could do this...blah blah blah... in times when taking action outweighed "understanding" these two would have been stoned in the street inside of twenty minutes of being found out.

[dobbershome]

willo1301:

I know because I was one of those "problem children" Talking did not work with me and "time out'' sure the hick wasn''t going to work either.