James Alex Hurley.Photo:Gallatin County Sheriff’s OfficeA 51-year-old Montana woman has been sentenced to life in prison for torturing and killing her 12-year-old grandson, James Alexander “Alex” Hurley.Patricia Batts, of West Yellowstone, pleaded guilty to deliberate homicide more than three years ago in May 2020 after the death of Alex on Feb. 3, 2020, according to theAssociated Press.Prosecutors then reached an agreement that dropped any efforts to seek the death penalty and saw Batts plead guilty to felony criminal child endangerment — for failing to get her grandson medical help when he was fatally injured — as well as witness tampering, for attempting to get relatives to give false statements to investigators,NBCMontanareported.Alex’s grandmother received 10-year sentences for each of the aforementioned charges on top of her life sentence.“This is a horrific case of child abuse. It was totally unnecessary, and it was done with malevolence,” District Judge John C. Brown stated, per reports.Patricia Batts.Samuel Wilson/Bozeman Daily Chronicle via APAlex, 12, had been living with his grandmother and her husband, James Sasser Jr., also 51, after his father, Tommy Tate — who was Batts’ son — died.Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.Alex died from blunt force trauma to the back of his head, an autopsy found, and was also covered in bruises and wounds, court records revealed.Investigators unearthed videos of Alex being tortured on cellphones taken from the family members. Judge Brown called the video evidence the most “horrific” he had ever seen, according to the AP.On Tuesday, Batts received her life sentence in District Court in Bozeman.Alex’s mom is set to bring her boy’s ashes back to Cleveland, Texas, where he was born, according to his obituary published inBluebonnet News.
James Alex Hurley.Photo:Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office
Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office
A 51-year-old Montana woman has been sentenced to life in prison for torturing and killing her 12-year-old grandson, James Alexander “Alex” Hurley.Patricia Batts, of West Yellowstone, pleaded guilty to deliberate homicide more than three years ago in May 2020 after the death of Alex on Feb. 3, 2020, according to theAssociated Press.Prosecutors then reached an agreement that dropped any efforts to seek the death penalty and saw Batts plead guilty to felony criminal child endangerment — for failing to get her grandson medical help when he was fatally injured — as well as witness tampering, for attempting to get relatives to give false statements to investigators,NBCMontanareported.Alex’s grandmother received 10-year sentences for each of the aforementioned charges on top of her life sentence.“This is a horrific case of child abuse. It was totally unnecessary, and it was done with malevolence,” District Judge John C. Brown stated, per reports.Patricia Batts.Samuel Wilson/Bozeman Daily Chronicle via APAlex, 12, had been living with his grandmother and her husband, James Sasser Jr., also 51, after his father, Tommy Tate — who was Batts’ son — died.Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.Alex died from blunt force trauma to the back of his head, an autopsy found, and was also covered in bruises and wounds, court records revealed.Investigators unearthed videos of Alex being tortured on cellphones taken from the family members. Judge Brown called the video evidence the most “horrific” he had ever seen, according to the AP.On Tuesday, Batts received her life sentence in District Court in Bozeman.Alex’s mom is set to bring her boy’s ashes back to Cleveland, Texas, where he was born, according to his obituary published inBluebonnet News.
A 51-year-old Montana woman has been sentenced to life in prison for torturing and killing her 12-year-old grandson, James Alexander “Alex” Hurley.
Patricia Batts, of West Yellowstone, pleaded guilty to deliberate homicide more than three years ago in May 2020 after the death of Alex on Feb. 3, 2020, according to theAssociated Press.
Prosecutors then reached an agreement that dropped any efforts to seek the death penalty and saw Batts plead guilty to felony criminal child endangerment — for failing to get her grandson medical help when he was fatally injured — as well as witness tampering, for attempting to get relatives to give false statements to investigators,NBCMontanareported.
Alex’s grandmother received 10-year sentences for each of the aforementioned charges on top of her life sentence.
“This is a horrific case of child abuse. It was totally unnecessary, and it was done with malevolence,” District Judge John C. Brown stated, per reports.
Patricia Batts.Samuel Wilson/Bozeman Daily Chronicle via AP
Samuel Wilson/Bozeman Daily Chronicle via AP
Alex, 12, had been living with his grandmother and her husband, James Sasser Jr., also 51, after his father, Tommy Tate — who was Batts’ son — died.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
Alex died from blunt force trauma to the back of his head, an autopsy found, and was also covered in bruises and wounds, court records revealed.
Investigators unearthed videos of Alex being tortured on cellphones taken from the family members. Judge Brown called the video evidence the most “horrific” he had ever seen, according to the AP.
On Tuesday, Batts received her life sentence in District Court in Bozeman.
Alex’s mom is set to bring her boy’s ashes back to Cleveland, Texas, where he was born, according to his obituary published inBluebonnet News.
source: people.com
