A Washington mother admitted to police that she went “too far” after her teenage son suffered more than 1,100 injuries and died when she allegedly beat him for hours for not doing his chores.
Denaya Young, 29, was arrested on January 30 and charged with a second-degree murder charge, the Seattle Police Department said in a probable cause statement viewed by the Idaho Statesman.
The 14-year-old, who was not named, sustained 1,172 injuries on his body, including on his head, neck, ears, torso, arms and legs, according to the medical examiner. He died from blunt force trauma.
Young told detectives that she beat the teenager with an HDMI cord when she discovered he had not cleaned the kitchen or any of his other chores.
“I just kept swinging the (HDMI) chord, I should have listened, but I kept saying you’re gonna stand up and do your chores and he was like mom I’m dizzy, I can’t do it, and I thought he was faking,” she told the detective.
Young’s son cried out for help as she hit him with the cord until she “lost count” and he collapsed, police said.
When she saw that the teen wasn’t moving, she called 911.
“I went too far,” Young told the authorities.
The boy’s stepfather was in the home during the beating along with his three younger half-siblings, police said.
Young remains in King County Jail on a $3 million bond.
