Morganton Woman Charged With Beating Son To Death

A Burke County woman has been charged with beating her 3-year old son to death in Maryland.

Gloria Elena Hughes, 37, of Morganton, is charged with first-degree murder of Jason Garcia. She also is charged with child abuse resulting in death by investigators with Bel Air Police Department in Harford County, Maryland.

According to reports, an off-duty officer saw Hughes standing in the middle of a street in Bel Air holding a “lifeless, infant child” around 5:25 a.m. Sunday.

The officer called for help. Other officers and first responders arrived as efforts to revive the child continued. The boy was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The investigation reveals that on Saturday, December 2, the boy’s father called the Morganton Department of Public Safety to report a child custody issue. He told officers that his child and the child’s mother, Gloria Hughes, were headed to Maryland.

That same day, both police and medical staff confirmed that Hughes and her child checked into the Upper Chesapeake Medical Center. The child had been admitted to the emergency room for a reported ingestion of an acid suppository. 

Video surveillance shows the child and mom leaving the hospital on Sunday at 12:15 a.m.

Bel Air Police says that video evidence shows Hughes beating the child outside a business. The chilling video shows Hughes beating the child’s head against the ground, multiple times according to Maryland authorities.

Hughes is being held without bond in Maryland.

WUSA-TV, Washington, D.C. and The Hickory Daily Record contributed to this story