Florida Man Allegedly Killed Stepson and Ordered Boy’s Brothers to Sleep Beside Slain Child

Harriet Sokmensuer
Updated
Fla. Man Allegedly Beat Stepson to Death Over Cookie

A Florida man has been charged with murder after he allegedly beat his stepson to death and made the boy’s brothers sleep beside the child’s dead body, according to multiple reports.

Jack Junior Montgomery is charged with felony first degree murder in the Dec. 31 death of Brice Russell, 7, according to a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office news release obtained by PEOPLE.

On Saturday morning, Montgomery allegedly called 911 to report that his stepson would not wake up, according to the news release. When investigators arrived at the family’s room at a local motel, they found Brice lying on a bed, and he was pronounced dead minutes later, the news release states.

In an arrest warrant, deputies wrote that Montgomery allegedly said he punished the child for sneaking out of bed and getting a cookie, CBS News reports.

• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

The news release alleges that when Brice’s three brothers woke up to see Brice being beaten, Montgomery threatened them with the same punishment and told them to “join in” and strike their sibling.

“While she was out working he chose to not only physically discipline this child himself, by not only repeatedly punching and throwing him on the ground but threatening bodily harm” to the boy’s brothers if they did not partake, Assistant State Attorney Matthew Smith alleged to a judge in court on Monday, WKRG reports.

Investigators allege Montgomery punched Brice in the face, mouth and stomach, threw him across the room and shoved his face into the carpet. The release alleges that the beating caused Brice’s brain to bleed.

• For more compelling true crime coverage, follow our Crime magazine on Flipboard.

One child did strike Brice because he was scared for his life, deputies allege. When the beating was over, Montgomery put the child’s body into bed. He then allegedly forced Brice’s siblings to sleep next to his body until the next morning, WKRG reports.

Montgomery has not entered a plea and has been assigned a public defender, according to CBS News, but PEOPLE was not immediately able to contact his attorney.