4-year-old beaten to death by mother for 'being gay'

Jessica Dutro subjected her son Zachary to savage beatings in a
bid to “cure” his homosexuality and enlisted her boyfriend Brian
Canady to do the same. Earlier this month, Canady pleaded guilty
to manslaughter for his role in the child’s death and agreed to
testify against Dutro. As a result, the more serious charges against
him were dropped, reports the Daily Mail.
Zachary died in hospital during August 2012 from torn abdominal
tissue resulting from the beatings. The official cause of death was
blunt-force trauma to the abdomen, The Oregonian revealed.
In a key ruling, Judge Don Letourneau declared that a Facebook
message sent from Dutro to Canady could be used as evidence. In
the message the accused wrote that she knew her son was going
to be gay because “He walks and talks like it. Ugh.” She informed
Canady that he would have to “work on” the child to remove the
perceived homosexual tendencies.
Another of Dutro’s children, a 7 year-old daughter also testified
against her mother, claiming that all of Dutro’s 4 children were
subjected to physical abuse, though Zachary received more than
the others.
The family were living in a homeless shelter at the time of child’s
death and a delay in seeking medical attention is believed to have
contributed to the boy’s death.
This latest high-profile case of homophobic violence comes as the
UK legalised same sex marriage, following in the footsteps of
many US states. Oregon does not recognise same-sex marriages
performed within the state, but does recognise those performed
elsewhere.
If found guilty, Dutro is likely to spend over 30 years behind bars.
Canady will be sentenced to 12.5 years as a result of his plea