‘God have mercy on your soul.’ Biloxi man gets death penalty for torture, murder of child



A Mississippi Coast man is headed to death row for his role in the beating and suffocation death of his 2-year-old stepson — all because the toddler soiled his diaper and took too long to get a juice box out of the refrigerator.
Heard’s wife, Hailey Lynn Bataille Heard, 24, is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder in her toddler’s death. She testified against Heard at the trial in Circuit Court in Biloxi. Heard kept his head down after jurors entered the room to hand the bailiff the form with their decision. None made eye contact with Heard. Heard showed no emotion after Judge Larry Bourgeois announced his fate. No one showed up in support of Heard.


When the toddler cried out in pain, Heard got angrier, and the beating only escalated, Hayden’s mother said. Hayden’s cries ended after his mother walked into the living room of their one-bedroom apartment, where the boy’s stepfather was still beating the child, and put her hand over her son’s mouth to stop his cries. The toddler died of suffocation.
As Heard kept up his denials, prosecutors pointed out that a forensic review of his phone showed how he had searched online for ways to make bruises go away. When Heard thought he had found a remedy, he texted his wife to tell her they could use banana peels to make them fade faster.
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