Mum allegedly killed 4yr old son because she thought he was gay

A mother allegedly subjected her four-year-old child to regular beatings because she believed he was gay, a court has heard.

Brian Canady

Jessica Dutro's son Zachary collapsed at a homeless shelter where he, his mother and his mother’s partner were staying in Portland and died in August 2012.

Doctors found the boy was suffering from trauma to his abdomen which had torn his bowel. He was taken off life support two days later, The Oregonian reported.

Dutro, 25, has been charged with murder, murder by abuse and second degree assault. Prosecutors say her son died as the result of a blunt force trauma and a delay in his medical treatment.

On Thursday, her eight-year-old daughter told the court that her mother used to beat her and her siblings if they misbehaved.

The young girl allegedly told investigators that "Jessica and Brian" had beaten Zachary until he was sick and said her mother had told her not to talk about being hit.

A judge has now ruled that a Facebook message from Dutro to her boyfriend Brian Canady is admissible evidence, where she said her son was being punished because she believed he was going to be gay

Source-The Independent