The 15-year-old suspect in the beating death of a 5-year-old Florence boy has been released to the custody of his aunt, who lives in Charleston.
The teen is charged with homicide by child abuse charge in connection with the July 26 death of Shanquan Pickett.
Shanquan died after he was taken off a respirator about a day after someone struck him about the head and body with a round metal object.
Florence County sheriff’s deputies arrested the 15-year-old boy July 29.
Florence County investigators said the teen has been ordered to wear an electronic tracking device and will be closely monitored. They said state Department of Social Services personnel also must evaluate his aunt’s home.
The results of an autopsy performed by a pathologist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston indicated the boy died of blunt force trauma, which led authorities to treat his death as a homicide, Florence County Coroner M.G. “Bubba” Matthews said.
According to S.C. Code of Laws Section 16-3-85, a person is guilty of homicide by child abuse if he or she “causes the death of a child under the age of 11 while committing child abuse or neglect, and the death occurs under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life; or knowingly aids and abets another person to commit child abuse or neglect, and the child abuse or neglect results in the death of a child under the age of 11.”
Homicide by child abuse is a felony.
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