A 3-year-old Carroll County boy was allegedly beaten so severely with a belt that he had multiple skull fractures, bleeding on the brain, suffered a stroke and had seizures, according to investigators.
For five days, little Brentley James Gore clung to life at an Atlanta hospital while his 21-year-old stepfather was in jail, accused of abusing the boy. Brentley underwent surgery to remove a portion of his skull, but his injuries were too severe, and he died Sunday, according to police.
Charges against Joshua David Richards, the child's stepfather and the son of Carrollton's police chief, have been upgraded to murder.
Family members were emotional in the courtroom awaiting Richards’ hearing Monday afternoon.
“We’re gonna get justice for that baby,” one woman said before Richards was led into the courtroom.
Richards cried as he answered the judge’s questions, wiping back tears with his shackled hands. After the brief court appearance, Richards was led back to jail, where he will remain without bond.
Outside the jail, family members left quickly without speaking to reporters. But the attorney representing Richards said the boy’s death was an accident resulting from a fall.
“At this point, he’s made no indications that he ever abused the child in any way,” attorney Mac Pilgrim said.
But investigators believe the boy was beaten with a belt, causing severe head trauma. According to the arrest warrants, Richards admitted he had disciplined Brentley with a belt.
“It’s a tragedy, no doubt about it — a child is dead,” Pilgrim said. “However, we should reserve judgments and wait for the facts to come out and not rush it.”
Brentley’s father declined to speak publicly about his son’s death, but posted a heartfelt tribute to the boy and apologized for not protecting him.
“This tragedy has literally destroyed my heart,” Jeremy Gore wrote. “There isn’t any way to possibly put words in to describe the pain.”
Shortly after 10 a.m. on Jan. 23, Villa Rica police were dispatched to the Hickory Falls Apartments after the boy’s mother called 911, according to Capt. Keith Shaddix.
“Our belief is it happened during the night and the mother was actually asleep in a different room and was not aware of what was happening,” Shaddix said last week.
Brentley was flown to Children’s Healtcare of Atlanta at Egleston for treatment, and Richards was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, aggravated battery, first-degree cruelty to children and possession of marijuana, police said. The murder charge was added after the boy’s death.
“I promise you Brentley James Gore that I will try my hardest to carry on,” Jeremy Gore wrote. “But be ready, when my day comes, I’m coming running wide open back to you. I’m so sorry. I love you my angel.”
Richards’ arrest is not his first, court records show. In December 2014, he was charged with underage possession of alcohol and reckless driving, and in 2015 Richards was charged with theft by taking. Both cases were later dismissed, according to the Carroll court clerk.
Richards is the son of Joel Richards, chief of the Carrollton police department, where he has worked since 1992. Joel Richards did not respond to a request for a comment on his son's arrest.
The GBI was conducting the autopsy on Brentley. Funeral arrangements had not been finalized late Monday.
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