Mother, stepfather make first court appearance in 7-year-old’s death

A mother and stepfather accused of killing their 7-year-old son appeared Tuesday in Las Vegas Justice Court on child abuse charges.

Markiece Palmer, 34, and Dina Palmer, 27, were arrested Thursday on multiple counts of child abuse, neglect or endangerment with substantial bodily harm and accused of beating Roderick Arrington.

The boy died Friday, Las Vegas police said, resulting in upgraded charges of murder against the Palmers.

They are expected to appear in Justice Court later this week in the murder case, records show.

The two cases probably will be combined.

The Clark County coroner's office had not determined the cause of the boy's death as of late Tuesday.

A police report showed the boy had massive brain swelling and bruising over much of his body, including arms, abdomen, back, legs, thighs and buttocks. He had open wounds on his buttocks.

Markiece Palmer told police that on Nov. 28 he struck his stepson on the buttocks with a belt for not completing his homework.

He said Roderick then balled up his fists and "ran up on him," at which time he grabbed the child by the arms and shook him hard, the report said.

He said Roderick then ran downstairs, slipped, hit his forehead on a table and fell backwards striking his head again on the floor.

Both parents told police they beat Roderick with a paddle and belt on Nov. 27 because the 7-year-old had not read a Bible chapter.

The Palmers both remain in custody at the Clark County Detention Center without bail.

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.