A Colorado mom is accused of handing her 4-year-old son over to a pal who allegedly killed him with “boot camp”-style torture as punishment for “occasionally” stealing candy and sneaking into her purse, according to an arrest affidavit.
Destini Rose Lipsky, 23, allegedly gave 24-year-old Alexander Martinez-Armstrong, who she considered like a “brother,” permission to brutally discipline her son, according to the affidavit, obtained by the Denver Post.
Cops were called to an apartment in Aurora, CO, at around 10 p.m. on May 16 after receiving a report of a “young child who was unconscious and not breathing,” according to an Aurora Police Department news release.
First responders found the young boy, who has not been publicly identified, suffering from “significant injuries,” and he was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died.
Lipsky later said her young son was “repeatedly lying to her, sneaking into her purse, not listening to her and occasionally stealing candy,” so she put him in Martinez-Armstrong’s care for a “boot camp,” according to the affidavit.
The boy was forced to practice writing numbers while Martinez-Armstrong allegedly beat his bare skin with a belt, according to the suspect’s girlfriend, who told police she heard the child’s screams coming from the living room during the night.
Lipsky also allegedly gave Martinez-Armstrong permission to whip and spank her son, while forcing him to do push-ups, planks, and wall-sits — all punishments she had also metered out on the boy in the past, according to the affidavit.
The child was reportedly covered “from head to toe” in bruises before his death and had allegedly been struck by Martinez-Armstrong at least 21 times with a belt on the day he died.
Martinez-Armstrong, who allegedly confessed to striking the child, was arrested at the scene and later charged with first-degree murder, according to the release.
Lipsky was arrested the next day and charged with child abuse resulting in death.
