A New Jersey man has been arraigned on murder charges after allegedly punching his girlfriend's 2-year-old son to death, CBS Philadelphia reports.
According to the report, 24-year-old Zachary Tricoche got into a fight with his girlfriend because she didn't buy groceries he liked. During the fight the little boy, identified as Jamil Baskerville Jr., reportedly became upset after Tricoche pushed his mother, the Associated Press reports.
Tricoche, the report indicates, told the 2-year-old to "put up his hands" to fight.
Jamil's mom told detectives that Tricoche punched the little boy so hard in the chest that he flew into a wall, CBS reports. The child got up, and Tricoche punched him in the chest another time so hard that the child once again flew into the wall and was knocked unconscious, authorities said.
The mother called 911 around 11:30 p.m. Saturday to report that the child had vomited before becoming unresponsive.
Jamil was pronounced dead shortly after midnight at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J.
Jamil's grandfather Gerome DeShields blasted Tricoche over the brutal death of the small child.
"You're less of a man to sit there and put your hands on any type of child, no matter what age it is. He was 2 years old. There should be no reason you should want to hit him," the grieving grandfather told CBS.
According to CBS, a medical examination revealed that Jamil's liver was crushed and that he bled to death internally. The examiner said the that cause of death was blunt force trauma and ruled the death a homicide.
Tricoche's bail was set at $1 million cash.
Read more at CBS Philadelphia and Fox News.