A drug-addicted Connecticut man accused of severely beating his 6-year-old step-son with a baseball bat was forced to wear a spit mask in court Thursday — without parole in the boy's tragic death. He learned that he was facing a life sentence.
Abdulrahim Sulaiman, 38, who previously spat at court officials, was charged with murder with special circumstances in the Sept. 25 assault that also seriously injured his wife and second son. This is punishable by severe prison sentences. The Connecticut Post reported.
“He is a monster and he should be locked up for the rest of his life,” Anna Escobar, the dead boy's aunt, said outside court.
“I want to know why this happened, why my nephew was bludgeoned to death,” added Jasmine Escobar, another aunt. “What we are looking for is [the state Department of Children and Families] In the same way.
“They knew there was a problem with the house, but they didn't do anything about it. We want to know why.”
Authorities said Sulaiman, who also faces charges of murder, attempted murder and assault, assaulted the family with a baseball bat after smoking angel dust.
All three victims suffered serious injuries, but Jathan Escobar's wounds were so severe that brain matter was visible on his bloody head when police arrived.
Police said the boy remained alive for a week before dying.
On Thursday in Bridgeport Judicial District Court, Sulaiman stood before a judge in handcuffs, wearing a beige gown and with a spit mask covering his entire head.
Despite his promises to behave, authorities gave him no chance given his past abuses.
“Don't worry,” the murder suspect told Judge Tracy Lee Dayton. “I'm not going to cheat.”
Special circumstances murder was created after the state abolished the death penalty. He is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Bridgeport police responded to the family's home after receiving numerous reports that a man had “severely assaulted” a woman and her children, the Connecticut Post reported.
Sulaiman reportedly jumped headfirst out of a window and into a trash can as police arrived.
One officer reported seeing the murder suspect muttering to himself with blood dripping from his arms and hands at the scene, when a neighbor fingered the officer.
“That’s him,” they said. “Please don't let him escape.”
Detectives later interviewed the victim's wife at St. Vincent Medical Center, where she said Sulaiman had been smoking angel dust, threatening her family with a gun and hitting her with a baseball bat.
Police later found a .22 caliber handgun inside the apartment.
The incident has raised questions about the state's Department of Child Care Services, which acknowledged last week that it had an “interaction” with the family about two months ago, the newspaper reported.
DCF Commissioner Jody Hillery called the incident “shocking and horrifying” in a statement.
But Jathan's family still wants answers.
“I feel like someone let this family down. This could have been prevented,” Anna Escobar said.
The Connecticut Attorney General's Office did not respond to a request for comment.
