Aunt Convicted Of Beating 4-Year-Old To Death Because He Couldn't Spell

BROWNSVILLE, BROOKLYN — A woman who beat her 4-year-old nephew to death with a metal belt buckle because he couldn’t spell was convicted of manslaughter Tuesday, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office announced.

Christen Dale, 24, lost her temper while babysitting four-year-old Ethan Ali in the home she and her sister shared at 287 Rockaway Parkway on Feb. 25, 2015, prosecutors said.

Dale became enraged when Ali couldn’t focus on his spelling lesson, so she grabbed a belt and beat the little boy with the belt strap and its metal buckle on his head, torso, back, buttocks, thighs and arms, prosecutors said.

Ali was beaten so hard that his organs ruptured and ultimately failed, according to Medical Examiner’s office findings.

Dale, of Brownsville, faces up to 25 years in prison after having been found guilty of manslaughter, assault and endangering the welfare of a child in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Tuesday, said prosecutors.

“The defendant’s crime is made even more atrocious by the excuse she offered for beating her nephew to death,” said Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez in a statement.

“Little Ethan should have had many, many years to grow and thrive, but instead he was robbed of his life by this defendant’s vicious attack.”

Contact information for Dale’s attorney was not immediately available.

Image via the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office