Mother Charged With Murder in Brutal Killing of Her Son, 2

A Virginia woman who had been charged with child neglect in her 2-year-old son's death now has been charged with murder in the brutal slaying. "This child was tortured," a prosecutor said. Noah Tomlin, whose body was found more than a week after his mother reported him missing, died of blunt force injuries to the head, prosecutors said Thursday. The autopsy also blamed Noah's death on battered child syndrome, WAVY reports. The charges against Julia Tomlin of Hampton include unlawful disposal of a deceased person and child abuse counts involving two other children in her home.

Noah, whose body was found in a steam plant, suffered two skull fractures. "The type of injury this child suffered was the same as if a child had fallen several stories from a building," the prosecutor said. The autopsy indicated that the boy was tortured, per WTVR. Julia Tomlin had told police that she put Noah to bed early on June 24, then found him missing in the morning. Officers put in more than 10,000 hours searching for him, going through 2 million pounds of trash before finding his body. Officials said they're trying to find out the identity of Noah's father. (More on the case here.)