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In horrific news this afternoon a four year old boy has died whilst in the care of his stepmother.

Anna Ritchie, from Ohio in the USA, is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and murder as well as child endangerment after holding four year old Austin Cooper in a scalding hot bath for more than 20 minutes. She then put the boy in pyjamas and into bed, reportedly to ‘teach him a lesson’ after he didn’t want to take a bath.

According to The Washington Post, Ms Ritchie and the boys father, Robert Ritchie, took over guardianship of Austin in January.

Paramedics said the injury would have had a 95% survival rate had they attended the scene immediately.

The boys father made the call to 911 the next morning after finding him non responsive in his bed.

The death has been ruled as homicide by the coroner.

We are sending all of our love and thoughts to this little boys family, what an awful story.

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  • What a f wit disgusting human being!

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  • Oh my gosh, this is horrific. That poor little boy, my heart goes out to him. What a cruel woman, I hope they throw the book at her. RIP little angel.

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  • God bless you little one may you be at peace in God’s care

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  • I can’t read these things. That woman makes me sick. Poor little boy! :-(

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  • What a tragic tragic story. I hope she gets life. RIP little angel.

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  • Such an awful story! How these monsters try and justify their actions on these helpless little human beings is disgusting! Trying to teach him a lesson….really you old witch!?!? Well you sure did show him, I hope you rot in jail forever!

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  • No words for this. So evil and sick !!

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  • Absolutely a monster…she should get the death penalty…but should be boiled to death…let the punishment meet her crime…I have no mercy or sympathy for a person who tortures a innocent child …..

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  • How can people do this to child? I hate reading these as I have two kids I love and can’t understand how anyone can be so evil

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  • What a sick woman. I honestly think that people who are convicted of such crimes should be sterilized …male and female. They should not be able to have further children.
    Its disgusting if the Father was aware of her bad treatment of his child.
    And i feel so sorry for the Mother who I guess must feel so sorry that she lost custody. Unless he was facing abuse there also. *sigh*

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  • Rest in peace little man!! She should be gaoled for life – never released.
    He didn’t deserve to suffer undesribable excruiating pain he would have no matter what he had/hadn’t done. How could she bear to hear him screaming?

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  • That precious precious little boy. No child should have their life ended and in such terror and pain. I pray they use the full force of the law to teach this woman and other predators like her that children are to be loved and treasured not abused and tortured.

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  • This is just awful. I hope this woman is severely punished for this atrocious act.

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  • This is about as callous and cruel as one can get. To hold that little boy there for 20 minutes is sheer cruelty – he must have been in absolute agony and she would have known this. I do hope she gets as tough a sentence as is allowed and hope that she spends the rest of her life with her actions on her mind. God Bless this little fella and may he rest in peace. Absolutely harrowing.

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  • This is heart breaking, if you dont want to be the primary carer of a step child while your parner is out, leave the parent of the child do not take your anger out on a little kid… I just read the full article to do with this on another site and. I can not believe a person could be this heartless. The other article stated if she had of called emergancy services after she noticed the damage done the childs life could of been saved.. Lock her up for life.. Life for a life i say..

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  • Oh my goodness. That poor child. He would have been in agony. This had made me cry.

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  • The step mum (monster) will rot in jail and then in hell, but it doesn’t bring back the little boy or take away the pain he suffered. This makes me so, so sad. Poor little boy. R.I.P.

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  • This is horrific!! I wish I hadn’t read this :-( that poor little boy!! I can’t even begin to imagine the pain and trauma endured that led to his death. RIP little angel xx

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  • Why on earth would you do that to a poor innocent child. Rip little man


    • As punishment… duh. Its normal *sarcasm*
      The other thing that worries me is that this may not have been the first time she has done something like this? I mean why didny he want to take a bath so badly that she did that?
      So sad for the father and biological mother (if she is around).. so horrible.

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  • This is so cruel – so far beyond a moment of anger – I’m glad it’s being treated as a homicide.

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