A second arrest was made Friday in the death of 2-year-old Jayce Martin, Orlando police said.
Johnathan Pursglove, 25, was arrested on charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child, police said. He was released on bond Friday.
Jayce’s mother, Victoria Toth, 24, was arrested earlier this month on the same charges.
Police said Jayce’s death could be considered a “torture case.”
An arrest report said that Jayce was malnourished and bruised when police found his body in a home on Bethune Drive in July. They also found fist-sized holes in the bedroom wall, the report said.
The arrest report shows that Toth found Jayce unresponsive when she came home from work. Her boyfriend, Pursglove, was at the home with the child.
Jayce’s death was ruled a homicide, and his cause of death was peritonitis, which is an inflammation of the lining of the abdomen. The certificate also listed "blunt force trauma to the abdomen."
Officials said Pursglove admitted he regularly punched holes in walls out of anger, but he did not admit to hitting the child.
But, police said Pursglove was also the child’s caregiver and he failed to get the child medical attention.
Pursglove has a history that involves an arrest for shooting people during a drug deal in 2011. He’s also been accused of domestic violence in the past.
An ex-girlrfiend trying to get a stalking injunction against him earlier this year referred to past violence when she wrote, "He has hit and punched me in my stomach. I also fell down stairs and woke up in the hospital."
Pursglove was released from jail after he posted bail, police said.
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OPD has made a second arrest in the death of 2-year-old Jayce Martin. Johnathan Pursglove, 25, arrested on charges of Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child. Jayce’s mother, 24-year-old Victoria Toth, was arrested on charges of Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child earlier this month pic.twitter.com/o7shFSyf4c
— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) September 21, 2018
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