Police discovered a North Carolina woman cradling her son’s lifeless body on the street in Maryland after she allegedly beat him to death, authorities said Monday.
37-year-old Gloria Elena Hughes faces charges of first-degree murder and felony child abuse after allegedly beating her 3-year-old son to death, according to the public court records. The Bel Air Police Department said that officers responded to a cardiac arrest report Sunday morning involving a child near the storage company just as Hughes was located by an off-duty deputy.
“An off-duty Harford County Sheriff’s Deputy was driving past the location and observed an adult female, standing in the street, holding a lifeless infant child,” the Bel Air Police Department said in a statement. “The deputy immediately called for assistance and Bel Air Officers arrived within minutes.” (RELATED: Surgeons Had To Remove Part Of Toddler’s Skull After He Was Allegedly Abused By Babysitter Who Had Been ‘Drinking’)
‘It’s pure evil’: Woman found carrying dead 3-year-old son in her arms on the street allegedly beat him to death hours earlier
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“Life-saving measures were immediately initiated on the child, Jason Garcia, a 3-year-old male… The child was transported to the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center by Harford County EMS and pronounced deceased at approximately 6 am.”
Surveillance footage revealed Hughes allegedly assaulting the child, as she was seen repeatedly striking his head against the ground and handling him violently, according to Law and Crime. “If there’s evil — that’s evil. It’s pure evil. It hurts all of us,” Bel Air Police Chief Charles Moore said about the incident, per Law and Crime.
Further investigation revealed an incident a day prior to the child’s death, Law and Crime reported. Hughes reportedly rebuffed a local’s attempt to intervene when seen in a car with the child. She then drove away.
Hughes appeared disoriented in court and was denied bail, per Law and Crime. Judge Kerwin Miller of the Harford District Court also ordered a competency evaluation for the trial.