Boy Killed for Potato Chips; Suspects 4 to 13

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —  Two of four youngsters aged 4 to 13 will be charged with manslaughter in the death of a 6-year-old deaf and mute boy who was beaten at a playground in a dispute over a bag of potato chips, authorities said today.

Charges also may be filed against the two other youngsters who admitted taking part in the Nov. 25 beating of Torrence A. Davis, Lt. Jerry Winebrenner said. The victim died the day after the beating.

“They started punching him and then pushed him down to the ground and started stomping him,” said James Davis, the victim’s grandfather. “And then they tried to make him eat dirt.”

Florence Elison, the boy’s mother, said he came home from the playground “sick and vomiting” on Nov. 25 after a fight over a bag of potato chips. She said he went to bed and she found him dead the next morning.

The boy had been punched and kicked during a two-hour period while playing at Pleasant City Park, authorities said. Three relatives, all under 7 years old, witnessed the beating.

Liver, Heart Injuries

An autopsy showed Torrence suffered internal liver and heart injuries consistent with stomping and kicking, but police said paper work prevented them from making any arrests in the case before now.

“There is a degree of brutality far in excess of a regular playground fight,” said John Marraccini, deputy chief medical examiner of Palm Beach County.

Police Detective Lt. Jerry Winebrenner said there are indications the children had “picked on” the victim before “because he was a little bit different.”

Winebrenner described the victim as a “slow” child who was small for his age, suffered hearing and speech impairments and attended a special school for handicapped children.