A young boy who died in east Alabama last week was fatally beaten, according to court records.
Jessie Taylor McCormack, 6, died Friday at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham. His father, 29-year-old Joshua D. Clark is charged with capital murder. Newly-released court records state Jessie was “beaten by a belt or belt like object and hands.”
Jessie’s younger brother, 18-month-old Enzo McCormack, died in 2019. The boys’ mother, Samantha McCormack, and her boyfriend, Robert Elmore, are charged with capital murder out of Blount County in Enzo’s death.
Authorities at the time of Enzo’s death noted that Jessie also showed signs of abuse back then, including bruises under his ears and his chin, and a skull fracture similar to the one that contributed to his baby brother’s death. Enzo’s twin sister is now the only surviving sibling. The Calhoun County School system now is raising money for headstones for both brothers.
Last Wednesday, Anniston police officers were called to Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center on a child abuse case, said Lt. Tim Suits. They arrived to find the medical staff treating the unconscious Jessie. Jessie Taylor McCormack, 6, died Jan. 20, 2023. His father is charged with capital murder. (Anniston Memorial Funeral Home)
The boy was transferred to Children’s of Alabama with critical injuries. Clark, his father was interviewed by detectives and charged with aggravated child abuse; Jessie died on Friday. At that point, authorities obtained the capital murder warrant.
Under Aniah’s Law, Clark is being held without bond at the Calhoun County Jail.
Jessie was in the custody of his father at the time of his death. Clark and McCormack married in 2018, and separated just two months later, court records show.
They had three children together, first Jessie, who was born in April 2016, and the Enzo and his twin sister, who were born in 2018, four months before their parents got married. Enzo died Sept. 9, 2019, at Children’s of Alabama. His death came three days after he was gravely injured.
(AL.COM)
