Grandma Tortured 11-Year-Old Boy to Death: Cops

A nightmare case of alleged child abuse, chaotic, newly released body cam from a murder case that could mean a grandmother will get the death penalty. She is accused of using shock collars, knives, ratchets, and starvation on her own grandchildren and one of them lost their life. What am I being arrested for? You'll see how this grandma acts like she has no idea how her 11-year-old grandson died, but police say that is a lie and she tried to keep the truth hidden until her own husband allegedly flipped on her. We're on the case presented by Law & Crime, I'm Chris Stewart. All right, before I show you this body cam, I want you to know that what a grandmother and her husband are accused of doing to an 11-year-old boy is so horrific that prosecutors in Arizona are going for the death penalty in this case. And we're not just talking about allegations of murder. We're talking about allegations of torture. This is a story out of Scottsdale, Arizona, and it begins on a January day with a call into 911 from a grandmother who says her grandson hit himself and is on the floor. Now, as you watch this body cam, bear with us because there are parts that is redacted, which is that black box you see on the screen. He literally has been hurting himself physically. The grandma is Stephanie Davis, and her grandson is the 11-year-old victim in this case. Now, her husband told police that they gained full custody of this boy and his nine-year-old brother from Davis's daughter because she was involved in criminal activity. Now, the boy's name was Chaska Davis Smith, and you can see in this picture, he just had a great smile. His family said, he had special needs. First responders rushed the boy outside, and you can hear Davis trying to explain what happened. Davis is claiming that the boy did everything to himself, but a police report states, quote, the child looked pale, lifeless, and had a fixed gaze with eyelids slightly open. That boy also had no pulse. Police said the boy had what appeared to be fresh injuries all over his body, including a deep cut to his head. What happened here? Ma'am, what's with the injury to the head? He did it to himself, literally. I tried to stop him earlier. He's been doing it for days. In weeks, actually. And we were like, "Stop." Ramming his head. What about the injury to his penis? He did it earlier. I got up, grabbed the knife, and he went, "It hurts." And you didn't call? No. 200. Did you call? They didn't call. But he did it. But he did it? No, because he just did it, like 15 minutes before this. I thought you said two hours ago. No. Two hours ago, he slammed his face into the thing. Literally, he was hitting himself. And he went like this to his eyes. He dug into his eyes, and he pulled them back. Can you see if that guy's related? The male with the kid? Hey, injury to the head looked old. Yeah, I think so. All right. Check for him. Come off. Clear. Hey, sister, continue. Okay. All right. We got 180 in. Now, according to this body cam, grandma's story is not adding up. Officers sat her down on a bed and had her explain what happened. Does it need a Band-Aid? Does it need stitches? No. No. Just pressure and stop bleeding? stops breathing. That's why my stomach's so huge. He's dead? No, no, no. Equipment, our equipment. Okay. All right. So obviously you don't take him to the hospital or urgent care or anything? No, it wasn't good. It was just a bummer. How does the day progress? What does he start? He stayed with my husband. Okay. He stayed with me. And it was literally just becoming too much for me to handle. He's been like that. He's getting bigger, he's getting older, and he's trying to get himself stronger. Then he became combative. So I told him, you know, you gotta eat. He was like, no. And I was like, yes. Then he was like, I don't have those. I work. So when I go to work, I don't realize what is actually happening until I come home. And I'm just so confused. I'm totally freaking exhausted. So he takes advantage of that. So he just pretty much keeps me awake to torment me. And literally, he's really good at doing it because I can't take my eyes off that kid for one second. Literally, he hits himself. Literally, he'll hit himself. And it doesn't matter what it is. That's how the spoon got broken. He literally hit himself. And we literally hide everything. When we don't. He got mad at me. It started a couple of months ago, and it was just over something stupid. He wanted candy, and he wanted flies, and I told him it wasn't a meal, but he actually had to eat. And so he got mad at me and stopped eating. And I was like, okay, this is enough. And then he literally started hurting himself. He went into the bathroom with a knife, and he literally cut himself. And it was just me and him at that moment. About what time? That was. I don't know. You asked me that. And I cannot tell you. All I know is Angry Birds 2 was on, and it was just getting ready to end. And I said, okay, I want to take him back. What he said was, I want to take Cubby. I'm cool. And I said, okay, but after you're done with Cubby, I'm taking you to the hospital. Okay. And then I left, and literally, here's the medicine bag. I was going to take my high blood pressure pill and my heart pill, because I haven't had time to take it at all. In between, literally, trying to put my hands in the small spaces to fix things, and then he broke my eye, and earlier he cut himself. Literally, he's been doing it on my butt. Cut his ass on my butt. Do you remember what channel Angry Birds 2 was on? Yeah, it was on Freedom. Channel 36 here. I can't even tell you what shows were on, because I was watching them. You're in the bathroom when he takes the knife. No, I wasn't in the bathroom. I was out. I was making the bed. I was trying to get the room picked up. This is when it was just me and him in here. And he literally went into the bathroom because my husband and ***** went. They weren't gone for long. They just went down at the end of the hallway. And they, he was literally getting the tool to fix my body. And because I don't have the right one, my neighbor has like a small little wrench. My husband literally raised the seat on my bike where ***** had broken the seat and was flipping up and down. Did you see him take the knife into the bathroom? No, I did not. Stephanie Davis is going on with a story about how her 11-year-old grandson did all of this to himself. But paramedics noted in a police report that there is just no way that this boy would even have the strength to be able to inflict the injuries that he had. Don't, don't think I'm questioning. I'm trying to understand. I know. He goes in the bathroom to use the bathroom. I know. How do you find out he's in there with the knife? Because he went, "Oh, oh, oh." And I was like, "What the hell is that?" And I went running and literally, I left what I was doing and raced over the bed to get to him. And when I got in there, I was like, "Owie, owie, owie, what?" And he goes, "Oh, I'm bleeding right here." And I went, "No." "No, wait, what? How?" And I got him all cleaned up, but there was blood, just a few drops of blood on the floor. And I was like, "Okay, what the hell are you doing?" And then he was like, "I didn't do anything." And I was like, "Stop lying to me." Because every time I ask him something, he's always telling me a damn lie. So I never know, and I always have to question everything that he always does. So it leaves me endlessly judging everything all the time. And I check the trash because he, he's dead. And I hold it open, and there was no blood. And that's where you found the blood? Yes. And I was like, "I don't know what's going on, but I can't believe it." And I was like, "I don't know what's going on, but I don't know what's going on, but I don't know what's going on." as davis is crying inside and rambling on about what she claims happened police are talking to her husband outside his name is thomas de charnas explain to me what's going on what do you mean what do you mean okay there's more than just the medical issue here what's up with his head that's what he did to himself when that's how what happened months ago and it just hasn't healed okay what's your name thomas thomas de charnas d-e-s-h-a-r-n as in no a-i-s police seem very concerned about what was going on inside this house to this boy thomas initially goes with what his wife is saying that this 11 year old boy did everything to himself so talk to me a little bit about why why he's got all these blood on his head and on his knees and everything else all i know is he does it to himself he will run into things he also was born with blood on the brain so he's going blind in death so his death perception and the small tight area in the room doesn't really work out the best for him and he does also follow he said he said he's going to go he was born with blood on his on the front lobe we went to the doctor and they they found out about it too late so they said all they can do is what it will just progressively get worse for him no i'm not talking about the blood on the brain i'm talking about the the head injuries the head injuries he went and seen they just said that we got to keep giving him ointment for it because the ointment should help heal it but it's just it's not working either that or his body is rejected i don't know so so what i know he already um talked to you so what so what happened well was getting dirty so my wife put him into the tub for what we call he's your grand grandson step grandson because i married their grandmother okay so i'm not their biological in any way but um she put him in the tub not that much water just so he can get cleaned up i was in the living room with the bed area with watching lion king on the show on the tv and he he i don't know all of a sudden she went into the bathroom and she said that all of a sudden he was not responding there was something wrong so she wanted me to come in so she she so she was sitting in the kitchen and she will go in there she was the door was open the whole time she would randomly go in there like every few minutes just to make sure everything was okay the last time when she went in he wasn't moving so she drained the water asked me to come get him out of the water so he wasn't moving was he underneath the water as far as i don't know so but i don't know i need to go in there and actually check you know because she said she was able so she said that he wasn't breathing or whatever or what did yes he wasn't moving at all so she was just like and then she asked me to get him out of there so she laid down a towel on the floor in the kitchen i put him on the towel and started compressing his chest blowing in his mouth trying to do cpr and hopefully get him to start responding but it wasn't working so she was already on the phone with 9-1-1 trying to get someone to call okay and how how often because i know you she said that you said that he hurts himself what do you mean that he hurts himself it's just like i said it's a tight room and he's got he's blind in one eye and deaf in the other ear so his depth perception is not the greatest and he will walk into the corner wall bang his knee against the counter or the chairs and he falls along he's very close because due to the fact he can only see other one de charnas says the boy was in the bathtub for roughly eight minutes he continues to stick with this story that the injuries the boy had were self-inflicted he says that the boy was born with a brain bleed that he has issues when it comes to seeing and hearing and he claims that this boy does go to a behavioral therapist but he's homeschooled according to the police report though de charnas eventually allegedly changed his story he reportedly turns on his wife stephanie davis and he says that she abused her grandchildren he allegedly said that davis would hit the boy with a ratchet that she even slashed and stabbed the kids with a knife he also said that they weren't fed much now here's the moment police put stephanie davis the grandma under arrest all right man can you just stand up for me real quick put your hands behind your back and be in place under your own circle 30 now i'm sorry 38. real 38 has one 10 30. honestly we don't know but we will let you know soon we're gonna start okay is there anything you need to take with you wallet or anything give my wallet some uh go up this way and then forget to drive your car around or something well okay yeah mine's all the way on the other side the grandchild around the side so they don't have to have to see you coming out yeah where would i find yours in the pillow in the pillow that's right i will i will grab those for you cell phone it's on the table with the white tape on it with the white tape you have something right here i'm assuming that's a medical device it's i got a hernia literally kicking me in my stomach repeatedly okay i'll grab those items okay yeah my car is on the other side like over to the side just down around the corner see if chills that girl i can drive we'll just stand right by the stairs right now come right up here for me davis has then put in a cruiser so what am i being arrested for um so as of right now i i don't have the exact charges for you um so as of right now i i don't have the exact charges for you um so as of right now i i don't have the exact charges for you okay but there's going to be okay but there's going to be okay but there's going to be detectives that are going to come out detectives that are going to come out detectives that are going to come out at some point to do the investigation at some point to do the investigation at some point to do the investigation and they're going to come out to speak and they're going to come out to speak and they're going to come out to speak with you as well with you as well with you as well and they'll notify you of that and they'll notify you of that and they'll notify you of that information okay the juvenile's mother made contact and the juvenile's mother made contact and the juvenile's mother made contact and is 902 to his location is 902 to his location is 902 to his location 3038 101 to d2 jail is going to be 30103 101 to d2 jail is going to be 30103 101 to d2 jail is going to be 30103 by the time she gets to the county jail by the time she gets to the county jail by the time she gets to the county jail davis is weeping davis is weeping davis is weeping oh my god oh my god now as for her husband thomas de charnas now as for her husband thomas de charnas now as for her husband thomas de charnas here's the moment he's taken into here's the moment he's taken into here's the moment he's taken into custody custody custody oh your grandfather yeah okay can we oh your grandfather yeah okay can we oh your grandfather yeah okay can we talk to you outside real quick talk to you outside real quick talk to you outside real quick let's go let's go let's go right back right are you going to play right back right are you going to play right back right are you going to play some of your ass in there some of your ass in there some of your ass in there you're up here you're up here you're up here okay okay okay i have a lighter and i have a lighter and i have a lighter and the whole thing the whole thing the whole thing the whole thing all right all right all right to this car right over here just walk down this way way way way way way way - That's the only two things? - That's the only thing. - All right, perfect. - So as my partner's doing that, I tell everybody when they go into our cars, that you bring anything like contraband, weapons, or anything that is a class C felony for bringing any of those. - I don't do anything. - Cool, I always tell everybody that. - Cigarettes. - No, you're good. - I don't tell anything. I have no issues. I understand, it's protocol. - Dude, you need to do it. - Can you set a room key in here? - Yep. - All right, okay, if we leave the room key in here? - Yeah, that's fine. - Okay, so I'm gonna see if you're gonna use it? - Nah, I don't think so. - I'm gonna give that to my partner. - No. - Sorry. Okay, I'm one minute, let me just double check. - No. - All right, go ahead. - Mm-hmm. - That's the best way is to put your butt first. - Oh, butt first, okay. - Either way. - There you go. - There we go. - Both Davis and DeCharnis are facing first-degree murder and child abuse charges in this case, and prosecutors, again, they're going for the death penalty, but in a twist, DeCharnis is now facing two death penalty cases, which we'll explain here in just a moment. Another side of this story too, of course, is how this could happen, because this was a family that was known to the state. The Arizona Department of Child Safety is facing a lawsuit in connection to this case. That suit's being brought by representatives for the younger brother of the 11-year-old boy who died, and it alleges that DCS didn't do enough to protect these children. Now, DCS released this statement about their previous interactions with the family. DCS says that in 2017, so this is roughly five years before the body cam video that we've been watching, and this boy ends up losing his life, in March of 2017, Davis was accused of hitting the boy, which DCS says was an allegation that was unsubstantiated. They say in May of that year, the boy reportedly had a red bruise under his eye. DCS says there was an unsubstantiated allegation against Davis in that case as well. And then you have a couple months after that, August 2017, and Thomas DeCharnis was accused of picking the boy up and throwing him down. The family, though, moved out of state during the investigation, according to DCS. And DCS failed to find evidence supporting those allegations as well. And then they closed the case in September of that year. Now, let's get to the twist involving Stephanie Davis's husband, Thomas DeCharnis, because not only is he facing the death penalty in this case, involving the death of this 11-year-old boy, he's facing a second death penalty case because once he was arrested and he was put in the county jail, he allegedly killed his cellmate. And now prosecutors are going for the death penalty in that case against him. Now, when it comes to the case involving the 11-year-old boy, both Davis and DeCharnis, their cases are still active, and they have yet to go on trial four years after the death of that young boy. That will do it for On the Case, presented by Law and Crime. Subscribe to us on YouTube and Spotify, and we're also streaming on Peacock. I'm Chris Stewart. We'll see you next time.