Jun 30, 2009 7:15 pm US/Eastern
Dad Charged With Murder For Father's Day Beating
WORCESTER (WBZ) ―
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Nathaniel Turner died several days after, prosecutors say, he was severely beaten by his father.
Telegram.com
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Leslie Schuler is accused of beating his 7-year-old son unconscious on Father's Day.
WBZ
Nathaniel Turner's mother, Alicia, dabbed at tears as she entered a Worcester courtroom carrying a little boy's dress shirt. She wept as Leslie Schuler was charged with the murder of their son. An outburst led to Nathaniel's aunt being removed from the courtroom.
Across the room from a shackled Schuler, comforting Alicia, sat the woman who raised Nathaniel -- his grandmother, Christine Turner.
"I just want to know why. He had this tremendous kid in his hands. He had heaven and earth and love. What other father wouldn't want that baby's love?" said Turner, speaking from her daughter's porch.
Turner said it was Leslie Schuler's idea to take Nathaniel for the summer. She wouldn't say if he claimed to have a court order or simply asked, but she said she wasn't worried because she knew Schuler well.
Read: Custody Questions Surround Boy's Death
"I'd leave him in the house with kids, he'd pick me up from work, whatever. He was like a normal son. You know, so I just want him to tell me why."
Prosecutors say the bruises to Nathaniel's body, allegedly inflicted by Schuler, were too numerous to count, and a Father's Day beating led to brain death the following day.
"It overwhelmed me," said Turner. "I just fell out because I didn't expect that. He called, everything, telling me he was having a ball. Took him to Disneyland, he was happy. A happy beautfiul boy. My baby."
Turner says she reminded Schuler Nathaniel had lots of family nearby.
"If you can't handle him, take him to his mom. He has a mom, a great grandmother here, he has a lot of people here. There was no excuse."
A not guilty plea was entered today on Schuler's behalf. He's being held without bail.
Christine Turner tells herself her grandson is in a safe place, and consoles herself with the knowledge that his organs will give other children life.
"We was able to help another 7-year-olde, the same age, with the heart. I know the little man who has that heart is going to grow to love, and one day I'm going to be sitting on my porch with my cup of coffee and he's going to walk up to me and give me the biggest hug I ever had."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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