Guilty Verdict For Man Charged With Child Abuse

An Elkhart County jury found has found a man guilty in the Christmas abuse of a three year old girl. It was December 23rd, 2012 when the mother left her three year old daughter in the care of her boyfriend, Tyler Beathea, while she worked a 13 hour shift and arranged to complete Christmas shopping for her daughter and Beathea. Upon returning home, the woman discovered massive swelling on her daughter’s forehead and took her girl to the hospital. Beathea fled from the hospital during the first emergency room visit, but was soon arrested. Beathea admitted to police that he hit the three year old child for wetting her bed. It took the jury mere minutes to return a guilty verdict. Bethea will be sentenced in mid-October.