A 5-year-old boy from Milwaukee was tragically killed recently after his father allegedly punched him for eating his Father’s Day cheesecake.
Travis Stackhouse initially claimed his son Sir Stackhouse had fallen down the stairs last weekend, which caused him multiple injuries, including bruising to both eyes, a cut on his lip, a laceration on his sternum and three cuts on his back, Fox 6 Now reports.
After a thorough investigation by the police, who believed his injuries were not consistent with Travis’ story, and an autopsy, the father allegedly admitted to punching his son in the face and stomach for eating his celebratory cake.
Travis has since been charged with reckless homicide for allegedly fatally assaulting Sir. The little boy’s family, meanwhile, is having a difficult time coming to terms with the heartbreaking incident.
“This baby was little, tiny, close to 20 pounds or so, and you doing all that? It’s ridiculous,” Macshaunya Wright, Sir’s aunt, told WALB News 10. “I can’t even process a kid going through that.”
The tragedy occurred on June 21, while Travis was at the home he shares with his girlfriend and their four other children, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the local outlet.
In the documents, Travis reportedly stated that his girlfriend returned from work around noon, but left again at approximately 3 p.m. After she left, Travis said Sir and another one of his children were upstairs playing Nerf basketball.
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All of a sudden, Travis alleged that Sir came “somersaulting down the stairwell,” but claimed he did not suffer any injuries from the accident — that is until a little while later when Sir complained he wasn’t feeling well and vomited, according to the documents.
Later in the evening, Travis’ girlfriend returned home and the family went outside to spend time together. According to the complaint, Travis went inside at one point, which is when he discovered three of his children, including Sir, eating his Father’s Day cake.
Though Travis admitted to being angry in the complaint, he denied assaulting any of his kids at the time. He also alleged that he went out with friends that evening, but came home to find his girlfriend on the phone with 911, noting that something was wrong with Sir.
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The criminal complaint confirmed that police did arrive at Travis’ home around 3 a.m. on June 22 for a report of a sick/injured individual. It was too late, however, as officials pronounced Sir dead at the scene.
When questioned, Sir’s older brother refuted Travis’ story about the little boy falling down the stairs and claimed that the father of five allegedly hit Sir in the stomach and back.
Travis was later re-interviewed about the incident, where he eventually admitted to punching his son in the stomach and face for eating his Father’s Day cake, but said Sir fell down the stairs later in the day.
An autopsy later showed that Sir suffered blunt force trauma to the abdomen.
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In an attempt to justify his actions, Travis said he assaulted his child because he only had one piece of cake and he “was upset that others were eating it,” the complaint states.
According to the documents, it appears Travis may have had a history of beating his children, as he reportedly noted that his girlfriend “often warned him not to hit the children so hard.”
The father of five appeared in court on Thursday, where he was charged with one count of first-degree homicide, WALB News 10 reports. Travis’ cash bail was set at $100,000 and he is expected to reappear in court on July 5 for a preliminary hearing.
An attorney for Travis could not be immediately located by PEOPLE.
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