Pleading 5-year-old beat to death for ‘disrespect,’ IN cops say. ‘I will be a good boy’
A 5-year-old boy was beaten to death by his mother’s boyfriend as punishment for what the man said was disrespectful behavior, Indiana police said.
On March 2, after responding to reports of an unresponsive child, authorities transported 5-year-old Augustus Williams to a hospital where he was pronounced dead about 12 hours later, according to a March 7 news release from the Michigan City Police Department.
Augustus’ death was ruled a homicide, authorities said. A probable cause affidavit show the boy had a brain bleed and multiple contusions on his scalp from trauma to the head.
The night before Augustus’ death, his mother’s boyfriend, 32-year-old Brice Bainum, punished the boy for being disrespectful and forced him to take a cold shower, court records show.
Bainum then made Augustus stand in the kitchen apologizing for about an hour while he was wet and shivering, according to court records.
Over the course of the night, Bainum hit the boy and forced him back into the cold shower, authorities said.
Augustus’ mother, 23-year-old Haile Lewis, found her son cold and unresponsive on the floor of his bedroom the next morning and told authorities Bainum took her phone, not allowing her to call 911 for another hour, according to the probable cause affidavit.
A neighbor in an upstairs apartment told police she heard the sound of thrashing water and a little boy say, “No, please stop, I will be a good boy,” according to court records.
Bainum is charged with murder and interfering with the reporting of a crime and Lewis is charged with neglect of a dependent causing death, police said. Attorney information was not available.
Michigan City is about a 120-mile drive northwest from Fort Wayne.
This story was originally published March 11, 2025 at 10:52 AM with the headline "Pleading 5-year-old beat to death for ‘disrespect,’ IN cops say. ‘I will be a good boy’."
