Child’s life was ‘a torture chamber’
NORRISTOWN >> Saying a 4-year-old Abington boy lived the last months of his life in “a torture chamber,” a judge ensured that the boy’s mother and her boyfriend will spend the remainder of their lives in prison for fatally beating the child.
“Every act and every omission reflects cruelty and brutality that is unimaginable. These are the things horror movies are made of and Tahjir lived it every single day,” Montgomery County Judge Risa Vetri Ferman said Wednesday as she sentenced Lisa Smith, 20, and Keiff Devine King, 27, to life imprisonment in connection with the Jan. 22, 2018, death of Smith’s son, Tahjir.
“The last months of Tahjir’s life were like a torture chamber. He was beaten regularly. They let him die. They sought no help,” added Ferman, calling the couple’s conduct “grotesque.”
During a trial in June, a jury convicted Smith and King each of charges of first-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy.
First-degree murder, which is an intentional killing, carries a mandatory life prison term.
But Ferman imposed 15-to-30-years in consecutive prison time for each of the defendants on the
child endangerment-related charges, citing the brutality of the crime.
“Lisa Smith and her coconspirator beat and pummeled this defenseless little boy,” said Ferman adding Smith and King showed “a complete lack of remorse.”
The additional prison time, sought by First Assistant District Attorney Edward F. McCann Jr. and coprosecutor Lauren Heron, is largely symbolic but makes it difficult for a future governor to ever commute the life terms.
“The last months of this child’s life were an absolute nightmare. They turned him into a stuttering ball of fear who urinated on himself. Can you imagine how horrible it must have been for this child to be with these monsters who broke him down,” McCann said while arguing for consecutive prison time against the pair, citing testimony that Tahjir stuttered and urinated out of fear as the couple brutally beat him.
“She put this beautiful little boy in the position of where he was brutalized,” said McCann, referring to Smith.
Smith and King, each of the 1800 block of Lukens Avenue in the Willow Grove section of Abington, showed no emotion upon learning their fates. Neither Smith nor King addressed the packed courtroom during the hearing.
Defense lawyers Carrie L. Allman, who represented Smith, and Francis Genovese, who represented King, asked the judge not to impose consecutive prison time against the pair.
Allman, relying on a report completed by Alana Hook, the chief social service advocate for the public defender’s office, argued Smith suffered sexual and physical abuse as a child, became pregnant at 13, and spent time in and out of foster care. Allman suggested Smith turned to the older King looking for help.
“She was looking for love. She was looking for stability. What she didn’t know is he had a history of abuse. She never had the ability to extricate herself,” Allman argued.
Ferman acknowledged Smith’s horrific upbringing, saying adults in her life failed her, but added it doesn’t diminish the severity of what happened to Tahjir.
“This case is, without question, about the collateral damage of child abuse,” Ferman said.
Genovese also argued that King had a traumatic childhood.
“He was subjected to things that most people are never subjected to,” Genovese said.
McCann, reading from presentence reports, said King told interviewers the first-degree murder conviction was “ridiculous” and that the killing was “an accident.”
“You will not find one shred of remorse,” McCann said.
Testimony revealed King told court officials, “I was raised on beatings worse than that.”
“I don’t think so, Mr. King. You’re alive and Tahjir is dead,” Ferman addressed King.
During the trial, McCann and Heron argued Tahjir was completely dependent on Smith and King for his care.
Testimony revealed the boy suffered bruises, black eyes, broken bones and burns, culminating in the Jan. 22 beating that ultimately ended his life. McCann suggested the conduct rose to the level of first-degree murder, which requires intent, when the couple saw Tahjir’s condition deteriorating after the beating but didn’t seek immediate help.
Tahjir was pronounced dead at a local hospital following a day of punishment, allegedly over spilling his cereal, according to testimony and a criminal complaint filed by county Detective Gregory Henry and Abington Detective Donald Lindenmuth.
An autopsy uncovered “pattern imprints, consistent with a shoe tread on the child’s buttocks and what appeared to be a burn on the child’s shoulder area,” according to the arrest affidavit.
A “Levi’s sandal” or flip flop, was found on the kitchen floor of the home shared by Smith and King during the investigation.
Prosecutors alleged the “waffling pattern” on the sole of the flip flop matched the characteristics found on Tahjir’s buttocks.
A forensic pathologist testified Tahjir would have to have been struck “dozens” of times and “hit very hard and a lot,” to have suffered the internal buttock injuries that contributed to his death. The pathologist described the internal injuries as “crush syndrome,” crushing-type injuries that lead to renal failure and shock.
Prosecutors alleged Tahjir also was struck in the back of the head and sustained burns after he was placed under hot water in a shower.
At trial, Genovese and Allman argued neither King nor Smith intended to kill the child.
Allman argued Smith and King were trying to discipline the child, admittedly, poorly, but that they had no malice, did not intend to kill and never thought their disciplinary measures could lead to death.
An investigation began about 6:09 p.m. Jan. 22 when Smith called 911 and reported her son was having an asthma attack. Emergency personnel met Smith and the child on Columbia Avenue in Abington and observed the child was limp and determined he was deceased.
In statements to detectives, Smith and King each admitted they took part in disciplining Tahjir and striking his buttocks with the flip flop while confronting him about spilling his cereal.
King described the conduct as a “butt whooping,” and later said “it all happened so weird and randomly,” according to testimony.
King, detectives alleged, also admitted to striking the child with a belt several months before the fatal beating.
During an interview, Smith, according to testimony, told detectives she initially ordered Tahjir to get in “the position,” which she described as a pushup position. After Tahjir moved from the position, allegedly because he was tired, Smith said she placed Tahjir on a bed with his pants and underwear removed and grabbed the “Levi’s sandal” and struck Tahjir on the bare buttocks but observed the child was not reacting.