6-year-old dies after stepfather allegedly beat him with baseball bat

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WFSB/Gray News) - A 6-year-old died after his stepfather allegedly beat him with a baseball bat.

Jathan Escobar died on Wednesday after being on life support from his injuries that left him “brain dead.”

“He has no blood flow to his head. It’s not flowing past his head. His heart is beating off of medicine is what they’re telling us, and he’s on a ventilator as well,” said Sasha Heron, Jathan’s cousin.

Jathan’s family described the boy as a “beautiful soul” despite being surrounded by violence.

“He was always so happy and he just enjoyed life altogether. No matter what was going on, he was always so happy with everybody,” Heron said.

His stepfather, Abdulrahim Sulaiman, was charged with murder.

He is accused of taking a baseball bat and beating his wife, Jathan, and Jathan’s 4-year-old brother Eli Escobar.

Sulaiman is being held on a $10,000,000 bond.

Jathan’s mother told police Sulaiman had been smoking PCP recently and was violent.

Jathan’s family said his mother only knew Sulaiman for a year and has been married to him for a couple of months.

“I knew he was hitting her because she told me and I knew he threatened to kill her and the kids,” said Jathan’s aunt Sandra Escobar.

Jathan’s family also claims they reached out to the Department of Child and Family Services multiple times about Sulaiman being violent and threatening.

“It just hurts us to see that he had to go through such violence,” Escobar said.

The department would not confirm that they had been reached out to but said the department, along with the Bridgeport Police Department, are investigating.

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