[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
A resident of St. Joseph, Missouri has been arrested as police believe he beat his young daughter to death with a metal baseball bat.
Law enforcement was called to a residence on Mitchell Avenue in the early morning hours of September 2. There, according to a probable cause statement obtained by People, they were led by homeowner Dustin L. Beechner to the roof of the home, where they found the deceased body of his daughter, Jozlyn Marie Beechner, covered in a white sheet. She was only 6 years old. Absolutely heartbreaking…
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According to authorities, the child died from blunt force trauma to the head — she had apparently been hit several times with an aluminum baseball bat. Mr. Beechner was subsequently arrested in relation to the crime and as of Monday is facing a single charge of child abuse resulting in death. It’s not a murder charge, but it is a class A felony which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years to life in prison.
He’s being held without bond in Buchanon County Jail and is reportedly on suicide watch.
Last Wednesday, according to the local outlet St. Joseph News-Press, Beechner had a bond hearing; it was Judge Keith Marquart who denied him bail due to the fact he had two previous felony domestic assault convictions and was still on probation. This was clearly not a new thing for him. During the court session he reportedly said he had the gall to say he had been “doing good” in “recovery” before being cut off by the judge who reminded him everything he said could be used against him:
“I’ve been doing good for a year and a half in recovery. Some things have been going on in my life …”
Ugh, infuriating! Sorry, “some things” have been going on? “Some things” are going on in everyone’s life! What things could possibly be “going on” in his life that explain how a man abuses a child, much less to the point of killing her? Just sickening…
As for Jozlyn, an obituary posted on Meierhoffer Funeral Home‘s website on the day she passed states she was nothing more than an innocent and sweet little girl:
“Jozlyn was sweet, smart, sassy, ornery and happy all wrapped up in one little body with giant blue eyes. She loved to color and dance. She liked to laugh and tease with her friends and family. She loved pink and purple, rainbows, unicorns, glitter, and bows.”
There’s also a candlelight vigil scheduled for mourners to pay their respects in St. Joseph on September 15 — what would have been her 7 birthday. Such an awful, sad situation. We hope Jozlyn gets the justice she deserves.
R.I.P.
[Image via Meierhoffer Funeral Home/KQ2/YouTube]
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