Brice McMillan
MACCLESFIELD, N.C. -- Police say a 13-year-old boy has died after being tied to a tree by his father in Edgecombe County.
Edgecombe County Sheriff James Knight says the investigation is still in progress, and details are still coming out about the incident on Felton Farm Road in Macclesfield – about 15 miles south of Tarboro.
Police say on Tuesday, the boy’s father tied his son to a tree in the back yard and forced him to sleep outside. He says it was a way to discipline the boy for misbehaving. He then untied the boy Wednesday morning before tying him back to the tree Wednesday night.
News 14 Carolina’s Johnny Chappell has more on this story in this report.
The boy’s stepmother found him unresponsive around 4:30 Thursday afternoon. He was taken to Heritage Hospital in Tarboro and pronounced dead.
Police arrested the boy’s father – Brice Brian McMillan – and step mother – Sandra Elizabeth McMillan – and charged them with first-degree murder and felony child abuse. They’re being held in Edgecombe Co. Jail with no bond.
Neighbors say they can’t believe it happened in their community.
Sandra McMillan
"They seemed like they were regular everyday people, they had horses and goats, and raising their kids,” said one neighbor. “I thought everything was fine, never heard nothing out of them. And when I heard this, to this day I can't vision them tying that little 13-year old to a tree."
The couple had two other children – ages seven and nine. They’ve been taken into the custody of the Department of Social Services. Knight says an autopsy is being performed to determine the cause of death.