Update: A third teenager has been charged in relation to the beating, ABC reports. The 13-year-old girl was charged as a juvenile on Wednesday with aggravated battery of a disabled person after turning herself in.
East St. Louis, Illinois - Two male teenagers have been charged with aggravated battery in connection with the violent beatings of a 34-year-old woman with developmental and physical disabilities, the Belleville News-Democrat reports. The beatings are alleged to have taken place over a period of three years, and were reportedly carried out under the direction of the teenager's aunt (also the woman's sister) who is now deceased, and who lived in the same household. According to the report:
The abuse was reported by the staff of a St. Louis Hospital on Sunday. The woman had suffered broken bones, was covered with sores and multiple bruises, and her right leg had to be amputated because it had turned gangrenous. She weighed less than 100 pounds.
The beatings are reported to have taken place on a regular basis with "poles from a swing set, a broom, switches and an extension cord." According to the teenagers, their aunt, who had a heart condition, ordered the beatings because she couldn't carry out the beatings on her own. According to one of the detectives assigned to the case:
She didn't do a good job washing the dishes or cleaning up the kitchen. Additionally [she] believed the woman was poisoning her foof and drink, and mixing her medicines.Police are also looking for the teenagers 13-year-old sister so as to question her in connection with the case. They are also expecting to seek charges against other adults who lived at the house and who knew the beatings were taking place but did nothing to stop them.
Although the woman's health reamins poor, she is reported to be getting better every day, it is reported.
