Boy beaten to death after baby brother died the same way; dad charged now, mom last time

ANNISTON, Ala. (TND) — A second child in an Alabama family has been beaten to death and this time his father is charged with the murder.

The Anniston Police Department said officers were called to the hospital last Wednesday for a child abuse case.

Jessie Taylor McCormack, 6, was unconscious and being treated. He was later taken to a hospital in Birmingham.

Officers at the scene spoke to his father, 29-year-old Joshua Clark, and then arrested him for aggravated child abuse.

Jessie died in Birmingham, two days later, and the charge against his father was upgraded to capital murder.

Joshua Clark is being held without bond.

The Blount County Sheriff's Office confirmed to WBMA Jessie's brother, an 18 month old named Enzo, was murdered back in 2019.

The boys' mother Samantha McCormack, and her boyfriend Robert Elmore, were charged with capital murder, felony murder, reckless manslaughter, and two counts of aggravated child abuse in that case.

Samantha McCormack had actually lost custody of her children but got them back before Enzo’s death, on the condition she keep them away from Elmore.