Woman Allegedly Did Nothing After Teen Son Beat 4-Year-Old Stepson So Badly His Intestines Exploded

A woman has been indicted on murder charges for allegedly doing nothing while her teenage biological son beat her 4-year-old stepson so badly that his intestines exploded.  

Catherine Seals was indicted on Wednesday on a felony homicide charge, WFMY in Greensboro reports. Her 14-year-old biological son Robert Bolsinger-Hartshorn is facing a second-degree murder charge. He’s being charged as an adult.

The child, Larkin Carr, was found unconscious inside a Harrisonburg, Virginia home on Nov.12, 2018. A paramedic said he had bruises on roughly 60 percent of his body, WFMY reports.

Seals allegedly left her teen son alone with the victim days before his death. Her son has allegedly admitted to beating Larkin in the stomach with a chair and punching him to the point where the child repeatedly vomited up a brown- and black-colored substance, yet he was never taken to the hospital. Earlier this year, Judge Lauri D. Hogge said "I may go vomit” upon learning about the horrific details of the case as she denied Seals’ bond.

Catherine Seals Photo: Norfolk City Sheriff's Office

Seals’ defense attorney Tanya Lomax previously told the judge that it’s not clear if Seals saw the bruises on the boy’s body or if she knew of the abuse.

“She was not there,” Lomax said, stating that “no indication my client had anything to do with what happened,” the Virginian-Pilot reported in April.

However, the boy’s father told police that Seals’ son had abused both Larkin and his 3-year-old brother just weeks before Larkin died, Norfolk homicide Det. Matthew Nordan detailed in court documents.

A detective also testified that the stepmother did notice the boy's strangely-colored vomit but decided not to call 911 because he didn’t have a fever, the Virginian-Pilot reported.

The boy died after his intestines burst, a result of his injuries.

Both mother and son remain jailed without bond.