A Seffner man has been charged with murder in the beating death of his girlfriend's 7-year-old son.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that 31-year-old Jack Junior Montgomery was arrested Sunday and charged with first-degree murder and several child abuse counts.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says Montgomery was watching Brice Russell and his three siblings at a Seffner hotel Friday night while their mother worked. A deputy responded to the room shortly after midnight following reports of yelling, but he didn't enter.
Montgomery called 911 the next morning, saying the boy wasn't breathing. Brice's sibling later told detectives that Montgomery had punched the boy and thrown him into furniture.
Montgomery was being held on $870,000 bail. Jail records didn't list an attorney.
