What to Know
- A jury found Lisa Smith, 20, and Keiff King, 27, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Smith's 4-year-old son Tahjir Smith.
- The couple beat the boy to death back on January 22, 2018, after he spilled his cereal.
- Police also say Smith admitted to previously beating the boy with shoes on prior occasions as "punishment" when he misbehaved.
A mother and her boyfriend were both found guilty of beating her 4-year-old son to death after he spilled breakfast cereal.
A jury found Lisa Smith, 20, and Keiff King, 27, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Smith's 4-year-old son Tahjir Smith.
The incident occurred on Jan. 22, 2018, inside Smith and King's home on the 1800 block of Lukens Avenue in the Willow Grove section of Abington Township.
Smith told detectives her 4-year-old son Tahjir Smith spilled breakfast cereal on the floor and she later confronted him about it. Smith then told her son to get in a "position" similar to a men's pushup position but the boy moved.
Smith then spoke with King, her boyfriend, about her son's behavior. King later punched the boy in the back of the head inside a bedroom. He and Smith then placed the boy on a bed and repeatedly struck him on the head and torso with a blue "Levi's" sandal. They then placed the boy in the shower and he became unresponsive soon after.
Smith told police she began to panic and called 911 while King dressed the unresponsive boy and carried him outside.
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Abington Township Police and paramedics responded to the home later that day and took the boy to Abington Memorial Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
"This senseless death of a 4-year-old boy at the hands of the very adults who are supposed to care for him and keep him safe is a horrible tragedy," Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said. "This is the face of domestic violence -- a preschooler was beaten until he stopped breathing because he spilled his cereal."
Police also said Smith admitted to previously beating the boy with shoes on prior occasions as "punishment" when he misbehaved.
