MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - Authorities believe an Alabama boy found dead inside a partially burned home didn’t die from the fire.
Court documents show 7-year-old Case Ketchum of McIntosh died from blunt force trauma before southwest Alabama firefighters pulled him from a smoldering mobile home early Sunday.
His stepmother, former school worker Jacqueline Patricia Stewart, is charged with capital murder in his death.
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Officials say the 45-year-old Stewart escaped from the blaze unharmed, and she is now jailed in Washington County. A complaint against Stewart doesn’t reveal additional details about what investigators believe happened.
An attorney representing Stewart didn’t return an email seeking comment Wednesday, but a preliminary hearing is set for July 23 in Washington County.
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