Ezra & Kristie Hazell - Child Abuse of 5 y.o. - Date TB
Father, stepmother arrested in beating of 5-year-old girl Associated Press - October 5, 2007 7:15 AM ET PHOENIX (AP) - A Mesa, Arizona, man has been arrested after telling police that he regularly beat his 5-year-old daughter with a military belt and a computer cord because she was disobedient. Mesa police say 29-year-old Ezra Emanuel Hazell was taken into custody Tuesday and the girl's stepmother -- 25-year-old Kristie Marie Hazell -- also was arrested on suspicion of child abuse. Ezra Hazell faces five counts of child abuse and is being held on a $10,000 bond. Kristie Hazell is facing two counts of child abuse but has been released from jail. Authorities say Ezra Hazell admitted beating his daughter while she was in a push-up position with her pants down because she wasn't doing her homework. The girl had nearly 100 bruises on her back, legs, arms, buttocks and chest and investigators called it 1 of the five worst cases they have handled. The probe began after the girl told her teacher and school nurse that her father and stepmother beat her with a belt almost daily. The family moved to Mesa from Austin, Texas, in March. http://www.kxxv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7172816&nav=menu509_3_1