14-year-old boy dies after severe beating as baby; ‘Carl’s life was nothing but pain’

Carl Leggett, 14, was severely injured when his mother's boyfriend viciously beat him in 2005 when his mother was asleep, according to WLWT-TV. The boyfriend, Terry Stiles, was convicted in the case and served an eight-year prison term.

Leggett died Saturday at Cincinnati's Children's Medical Center, and, following an autopsy, his death was classified as an "apparent homicide" by the Hamilton County coroner, but the exact cause of death remains unknown, the news station reported.

"Carl's life was nothing but pain, medications, hospital stays," the teen's grandmother, Shannon Jordan, told WLWT.

Jordan, who took care of the teen for most of his life, said he needed extensive medical care and that he rarely ventured far from bed.

His mother, Sierra Burton, who now lives in Florida, said she feels great remorse over what happened to her baby.

"We didn't get a chance to see him walk or anything," she told the news station in an interview Monday.

“You just need to be careful who you bring around your kids. We thought, or I thought, at the time I could trust him,” Burton said.

It's unclear whether Stiles could face more charges in the case. Investigators are waiting for the results of lab tests due next month before making a decision.

Leggett’s funeral is scheduled for Thursday.