A California barber has been charged with the brutal murder and torture of a 6-year-old boy, after allegedly beating him with a piece of lumber for wetting his pants, according to authorities. The Orange County District Attorney‘s Office confirmed that Ernest Lamar Love, 41, faces charges of murder, torture, and child abuse causing death.
Love has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The incident occurred on August 29 at around 6:30 p.m., while Love was babysitting Chance Crawford, whose mother was working the night shift at a local hospital.
Disturbing surveillance footage and fatal consequences
Video surveillance shows Love walking into his barber shop with a large piece of raw lumber “with a reluctant Chance following behind him,” the DA’s office said.
Hours later, at approximately 1:30 a.m., Love reportedly carried the unconscious and severely injured first-grader into an emergency room. Doctors immediately discovered signs of severe abuse, including violent shaking, subdural hematoma, exposed wounds, and extensive brain swelling. The injuries also included a fracture on the boy’s shoulder blade and flesh missing from his buttocks. Chance Crawford, who had just started first grade, succumbed to his injuries on September 3.
Allegations of torture and abuse
Prosecutors allege that Love, angered after the boy wet his pants at a park, viciously beat him with the lumber, then poured hydrogen peroxide on his open wounds before forcing him to do push-ups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks. When the child collapsed, Love reportedly drove him to the hospital instead of calling 911 for immediate help. Love is being held without bond and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison plus five years if convicted on all charges, according to the DA’s office.
Family devastated: “No child deserves this”
As the Crawford family mourns the tragic death of their son, they are grappling with both immense grief and outrage. Chance’s father, Vance Crawford, expressed his heartbreak in an interview with ABC7.
“The more I explain what happened, the angrier I feel. He’s six years old. I wanted to see my son graduate,” Crawford said. “He was a great kid. I love my son. I miss him so much. He didn’t deserve that.” Other family members have also spoken out, demanding justice for the little boy. “What kind of monster are you?” asked his great-aunt Carmen Hill. “This is killing us slowly because no child deserves to be treated like this,” his cousin Aisha Herrell told ABC7.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral expenses and to seek justice for Chance, as they struggle to come to terms with their loss.
Prosecutors vow to seek justice
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer vowed to hold Love accountable for the unspeakable acts of violence against the young boy. “While his new classmates were celebrating the end of the first week of first grade, Chance’s seat in his classroom was empty as he fought for his life in a hospital bed,” Spitzer said in a statement. “Words do not exist to describe the absolute terror this little boy was forced to endure — all at the hands of someone who was supposed to be protecting him, not torturing him to death,” Spitzer continued. “Now, we as prosecutors will do everything we can to pursue justice for little Chance and be his protectors in death that he failed to have in life.” As the case unfolds, the community and the family of Chance Crawford remain united in their call for justice.