An Oregon jury has convicted a
25-year-old woman of murdering her 4-year-old son whom she described
as gay.
The boy, Zachary Dutro-Boggess, died in
2012, several days after being hospitalized with trauma to his
abdomen, The
Oregonian reported.
Prosecutors allege that Jessica Dutro
was abusive with three of her children, but Zachary bore the brunt of
the violence. Only an infant – whose father Dutro lived with –
showed no signs of abuse.
Dutro's 7-year-old daughter told
investigators that her mother and her boyfriend had beaten her
brother on August 12, 2012.
“They beat up my brother, then he
died. I seen them,” the girl reportedly told her counselor.
The motive behind the violence,
prosecutors allege, was Dutro's fear that her son was gay.
Using a slur, Dutro told her boyfriend
in a Facebook message that her son was going to be gay – “He
walks and talks like it. Ugh.” – and said that he would have to
“work on” Zachary.
A sentencing hearing for Dutro is set
for April 18.