Jean Charles Strangled His Son: Azuree Charles To Death – A NINE-year-old boy who beat cancer has been murdered, and his father has been arrested for a separate assault on his son last year, police say.
Azuree Charles was found dead on May 4 in a wooded area behind his Pennsylvania residence, according to authorities.
Jean Charles Strangled His Son: Azuree Charles To Death
Jean Charles, 40, allegedly strangled his son, Azuree Charles, dragged his body over an embankment, and tried to hide it under a lawn chair and cooler behind a neighbor’s shed in New Kensington. A shovel was also used during the ordeal, according to the Tribune Live.
Mother Luella Elien was accused of giving Jean access to their son despite him abusing the boy between November and May 1. She also let him stay at her home even though he had an active arrest warrant for punching their son in the eye in November.
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Jean was arrested in connection with that case a day after Azuree’s body was found.
According to WPXI, Azuree was found partially buried with his pajamas hanging from a nearby tree branch. A shovel and the slain boy’s bike, which were found also near his body, reportedly had his DNA on them.
Court papers stated that a young neighbor heard Azuree scream, “No, no, no, I’m sorry,” before a resident discovered his body.
Shortly before his murder, Azuree had a tracheostomy tube removed which helped him to eat and talk. Reports also indicated that he was a cancer survivor.
Jean is charged with first-degree murder, criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, unlawful restraint of a minor by a parent, strangulation, concealing the death of a child, and tampering with physical evidence.
Elien was charged with being an accomplice to the aggravated assault of a child, child endangerment, and hindering the apprehension or prosecution of another person.
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Parents arrested in death of 9-year-old who had just survived cancer, PA cops say
The parents of Azuree Charles, a 9-year-old boy who authorities say was killed in May, have been charged in his death, according to a Pennsylvania district attorney. Azuree, found dead behind his New Kensington home on May 4, was ruled to have died from mechanical strangulation, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said in a news briefing on Wednesday, Sept. 21.
His father, Jean Charles, faces charges of murder, criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, unlawful restraint of a minor by a parent, strangulation, concealing the death of a child, and tampering with physical evidence, the district attorney said.
He had previously been in jail on assault and child endangerment charges that dated back to a November incident, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported. Luella Elien, Azuree’s mother, was charged Wednesday with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, and hindering apprehension or prosecution of another person, Ziccarelli said.
It’s unclear what role she may have played in the boy’s death. “This horrific tragedy has rocked the New Kensington community, it has rocked our office, the New Kensington Police Department, and our county as a whole,” Ziccarelli said while announcing the charges. “The trauma that has affected us all, however, pales in comparison to what Azuree no doubt experienced.”
Police recovered the body after Azuree Charles was reported missing
The DailyMail reported that the boy was “beaten to death” and dumped outside under a chair, with cops arresting his dad over an assault on the youngster last year.
No arrests have been made in the case, but KDKA says a “person of interest” has been identified.
Late Thursday evening, Ziccarelli confirmed to us Azuree’s father, Jean Charles, was picked up on Wednesday by police and arraigned for charges unrelated to the case.
Jean Charles was arrested on charges of endangering the welfare of children and simple assault in November of last year.
According to triblive.com, a criminal complaint received by cops on November 24, claimed a juvenile had been punched in the eye by his father, identified as Jean Charles.
The site goes on to say that the complaint does not name Azuree as the victim, but does identify the victim as a 9-year-old boy.
Family and neighbors have said Azuree has only younger sisters.
Neighbors told KDKA Charles had recently beat pediatric cancer and was enjoying a second chance at life.
The New Kensington-Arnold School District superintendent sent a letter to families saying in part, “it is with a heavy heart that I share news that one of our elementary students passed away suddenly sometime this morning before school.”
Investigators have not named any suspects and have not confirmed whether or not they are looking at Jean Charles as a person of interest in this case.
Ziccarelli is asking the community for help. Anyone with information is asked to contact New Kensington police at 724-339-7533.
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