Louisiana grandmother accused of forcing whiskey on 4-year-old
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A Louisiana grandmother will face a jury this week on first-degree murder charges after prosecutors allege she forced her 4-year-old grandson to drink a lethal amount of whiskey as “punishment.”
Roxanne Record, 57, appeared in court as prosecutors described the final moments of her granddaughter China Record’s life in April 2022. Prosecutors said the boy was allegedly forced to his knees and forced to finish a bottle of Canadian Mist whiskey while his mother, Kadjah Record, looked on and did nothing.
In her opening statement, Assistant District Attorney Dana Cummings described the typical relationship children have with their grandparents, noting that in China it’s the opposite.
“There was never anything like this in China because his grandmother never loved him, never loved him and treated him differently than she treated other children,” Cummings said. Lawyer.
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Roxanne Record, 57, was arrested in April 2022 following the death of her grandson China. (Baton Rouge Police Department)
Prosecutors alleged a “pattern of cruelty” at the Baton Rouge home, saying China was so marginalized that his siblings were conditioned to believe the 4-year-old was “stealing” while trying to access basic needs like food and water.
The sentence began when China took a single sip from a bottle of whiskey left on the kitchen counter, prosecutors said.
They allege Roxanne Record then forced the boy to consume the remainder of the 750ml bottle (approximately 1.6 pints of 80-proof liquor).
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Roxanne’s daughter, Kadjah Record, is also charged with murder after watching Roxanne punish her toddler without intervening. (Baton Rouge Police Department)
First responders found the child unresponsive at the family’s home on Wallis Street. An autopsy later revealed his blood alcohol content was 0.680; That’s more than eight times the legal limit for an adult driver.
The Baton Rouge Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
“He… went about his daily life while he was dying,” Cummings told the jury.
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The little boy was unresponsive when officers first arrived on the scene and was pronounced dead two hours later. (Getty Images)
Defense lawyer Caitlin Fowlkes, meanwhile, countered that China’s death was “a tragedy that no one should have to endure” but was also an accident.
He argued that Record tried to save the girl with CPR and said the state failed to prove the “specific intent” required for a first-degree murder conviction.
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Roxanne Record faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder.
The boy’s mother, Kadjah Record, is also charged with murder and is expected to go to trial this summer.
