Articles labeled: syracuse

The relatives of a 20-month-old who was beaten to death now have 20/20 hindsight as they realize they had concerns for the child’s safety.

Anthony Weakfall Jr. was charged with second-degree murder in the beating of Imani Jennings. Police said Weakfall beat the toddler with a metal rod, cable wire and his hand for an hour after she urinated on the floor Friday morning. He then left for school.

Police said the toddler’s mother, 18-year-old Cherron Patterson, and Weakfall returned from school that day to find the child’s lifeless body.

Investigators said they also learned that for the last two weeks Patterson and Weakfall went to school and left the child home alone with only a bowl of chicken nuggets and a glass of milk. The pair also admitted beating the child as a form of discipline when she would have an accident, police said.

Two police officers in Syracuse, New York rescued a 7-year-old that caught on fire while playing with matches.

Jackari Garrett suffered second- and third-degree burns on 25 percent of his body and was in serious condition Thursday at University Hospital, said Lt. Joe Cecile. The boy was burned on the left side of his body from his face, down his torso, to his leg, Cecile said.

Officers Jeffrey Fleming and Scott Fura were on routine patrol about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when they spotted the boy running across the street carrying what they thought was a flaming object. The officers quickly realized the boy was on fire, Cecile said.

Fleming and Fura jumped out of their patrol car and chased after the boy, grabbing him and rolling him in wet grass to put the fire out.