MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Tennessee woman is accused of torturing and fatally beating a 3-year-old boy in her care.

Dominica Mosby, 29, of Memphis, was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated child neglect in the Nov. 15 incident.

Mosby was charged in connection with the death of Kevin Horton, the son of her boyfriend.

Mosby initially told police she had put the boy to bed after he was sick. Police said that she later confessed to inflicting severe damage to the child.

Investigators alleged that Mosby placed a lit cigarette in the boy’s ear and burned his genitals after he urinated on the floor.

She also admitted to repeatedly beating the child, stomping and hitting him on his torso and chest, when he did not obey her, police said.

At about 3 a.m. CT on Nov. 15, police responded to a 911 call as the boy’s father, Keith Horton, discovered the child unresponsive. Horton was pronounced dead at the scene.

“I get to the house, she (Mosby) is standing outside. I have the fire department all in the house,” Keith Horton said. “I go in there to see my son, he’s ice cold, he’s purple. He had been dead.”

According to the medical examiner, the cause of death was homicide. An autopsy revealed that Horton suffered lacerations to his liver. He also had internal bleeding in his stomach, bruising on his torso and burns to his ear and genitals.

The family has set up a GoFundMe page to offset the cost of funeral expenses.

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