A North Carolina stepmother is accused with burning and attempting to castrate her five-year-old stepson following a campaign of abuse that culminated in an attempt at murder.
Bracey Renee Byrd, age 33, was arrested on July 29 after her stepson was brought to the emergency department at Wilson Medical Center with third-degree burns and other injuries.
She faces multiple counts, including attempted murder and deliberate castration.
Face, arms, head, upper and lower legs, back, and genitalia were covered in bruises, which alarmed the medical staff. ABC 11 reports that police have described the incident as “horrific.”
Some of the many wounds appeared to have been inflicted in the past and were now mending.
Bracey Renee Byrd, 33, was arrested on September 30 on multiple offenses, including attempted murder and deliberate castration, among others.
The child had to be sent to the University of North Carolina (UNC) Burn Center for further treatment due to the severity of the burns, which were deemed to be so serious that the fat beneath the skin had melted.
The Department of Social Services referred a case of child abuse to the local sheriff’s office after concluding that the wounds were not self-inflicted.
Byrd was arrested and charged with attempted murder, felony child abuse inflicting significant bodily injury, malicious castration, first-degree kidnapping, and three charges of criminal child abuse with physical injury on September 30.
The Wilson County Sheriff’s Office has not identified the child, who is still receiving care for his injuries.
Timothy Dean Byrd, the spouse of Byrd, passed away on September 8, 2021. He left her with three children, two of whom were adopted in 2019.
According to reports, the stepmother is being held in custody on a $2 million bond.