A Gary, Indiana man is facing murder charges after police say he bound, tortured and beat to death his 5-year-old son as punishment for taking a roll out of the oven.
Police have 28-year-old Leon DeNeal Burns in custody for the death of 5-year-old Leon Walker after the boy was taken to the hospital covered in welts and bruises and pronounced dead on arrival.
Burns and his live-in girlfriend Rochell Johnson have been charged with eight felonies for the death of the child including murder and neglect.
Johnson admitted to police that she was there while the boy’s hands were tied with an extension cord and he was beaten and punched until his neck was broken causing instant death.
Police report that Burns told them he would often beat the boy for lying, calling him a “major liar” and saying that this time he beat him because he “lied about eating a roll from the stove.”
When police first reported to the scene of the crime, the couple lied about the boy’s whereabouts, saying the child was still with his mother Turquoise Walker.
Police have since disputed those claims saying Walker has been in a “closed rehabilitation center” for the past two weeks and did not have access to the child.
After his arrest Burns admitted his wrongdoing to police saying he probably “went too far.”
He appeared in court Tuesday and pled not guilty to the charges. He will appear in court again on June 18.
Leon Walker
