City man admits to abusing son, 7, who died from injuries
A city man faces the possibility of 45 years to life in prison after he pleaded guilty Tuesday to murdering his 7-year-old son who suffered burns over 15 percent of his body, had a fractured skull, was whipped with a cord about his body and burned with a hot pan.
MANCHESTER, NH — A city man faces the possibility of 45 years to life in prison after he pleaded guilty Tuesday to murdering his 7-year-old son who suffered burns over 15 percent of his body, had a fractured skull, was whipped with a cord about his body and burned with a hot pan.
Murtadah Mohammad, 26, formerly of 199 Eastern Ave., Apt. 3, pleaded guilty in Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District to second-degree murder and to falsifying physical evidence for staging a crime scene in his kitchen.
When he is sentenced on May 27, his defense attorneys will have the opportunity to argue for a lesser sentence because of the negotiated “capped plea.” It means the state will recommend no more than 45-years-to life in prison on the murder charge and the defense will be allowed to ask the judge to impose a lesser amount of time.
The negotiated sentence on the falsifying physical evidence charge is 2-to-4-years, consecutive to the murder sentence, but suspended for 10 years.
The state is also asking that Mohammad be ordered to pay restitution for the child’s funeral and for counseling.
Senior Assistant New Hampshire Attorney General Peter R. Hinckley, in outlining what the state would prove if the case was tried, told Judge N. William Delker that in September 2022 Mohammad gained custody of Jaevion Riley, 7, something he did not expect or request.
Mohammad was living with his mother at the time, was unemployed and had no income. His mother was threatening to kick him out.
Having custody of the 7-year-old stressed him out, Hinckley said, and Mohammed told a friend he believed Jaevion had homosexual tendencies.
On the morning of Jan. 17, 2023, Mohammad called 911 about 10:20 a.m. seeking help for his son who he said had burned himself.
When emergency responders arrived, they found the child unconscious and suffering from scalding burns and physical injuries over his entire body.
He was taken by ambulance to the Elliot Hospital and then airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital where he was treated in its specialized pediatric unit. Jaevion never regained consciousness and died on Jan. 24, 2023.
Doctors, Hinckley said, at trial would testify that Jaevion had second and third-degree burns over 15 percent of his body; a skull fracture; loop and U-shaped pattern bruises on his body, indicative of whipped injuries; a missing upper tooth and bum and lip injuries; bruising on his face and body, and loop-shaped lash marks on his stomach and legs.
When investigators spoke to Mohammad, he told them Jaevion burned himself in a “blistering hot shower.” Detectives determined that the water temperature in the apartment was set at 155 degrees Fahrenheit, 33 degrees hotter than normal.
Doctors, however, disputed Mohammad’s account of what happened, saying the burn injuries were the result of Jaevion being submerged in hot water.
Mohammad admitted to “smashing” Jaevion in the face a few times and spanking him, Hinckley said. He also admitted to hitting the child with wires because, Mohammad told investigators, the “child needed to learn not to be homosexual.”
Hinckley said investigators obtained records for Mohammad’s cell phone and determined Jaevion suffered the injuries the day before. That night, Mohammed made calls and internet searches, which he deleted from his cell phone. At 8 p.m. on Jan. 16, 2023 – 14 hours before he called 911 – Mohammad did internet searches for scalding burns, including how to treat them, and the mortality rate for children suffering from them.
The burns, Hinckley said, were visible to everyone who saw the child. The burns, he said, would have been extremely painful.
The following morning, four hours before he called 911, he researched first and second-degree burns. That morning he also called the school to say Jaevion had the flu and wouldn’t be in school for a week and also called to cancel a scheduled visit Jaevion had with his mother that day.
He also drove to a gas station that morning, where he bought a $2 beer, and to a pharmacy where he purchased a first-aid kit.
Hinckley said had Mohammad got the proper medical attention for Jaevion the night before when he was first injured “the child might have lived.”
