Prosecutor: Man Tells Toddler to Put Up Fists, Then Beats Him to Death

A New Jersey man is charged with murder after he punched a toddler with enough force to kill him, authorities say.

Zachary Tricoche of Pennsauken was arraigned on murder charges in Camden County Superior Court, CBS Philly reports.

Tricoche, 24, got into a fight with his girlfriend because she did not buy the groceries he liked before he punched the two-year-old toddler in the chest and sent him flying into the wall.

The child got up after the first blow, after which Tricoche ordered him to put up his fists and fight back, then knocked him unconscious, prosecutors say.

The child’s mother called 911 and then took her son to Cooper University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A medical examination found that the boy, identified as Jamil Baskerville Jr., suffered internal bleeding from an injured liver and bruising on his chest.

Jamil’s grandfather, Gerome DeShields, outraged at how his grandson was killed, said to CBS News, “You’re less of a man to sit there and put your hands on any type of child, no matter what age it is. He was two years old. There should be no reason you should want to hit him.”

Tricoche, who has multiple drug-related convictions, is being held on $1 million bail, according to WNEP.