A mother and her husband in Kentucky have been convicted of severely abusing her 9-year-old son with extension cords, belts, and other items. Patricia Stokes and Antonio Collier face lengthy prison recommendations following the jury's verdict. The abuse came to light after a family member noticed scars on the boy's body.
Patricia Stokes, 33, and Antonio Collier, 32, were found guilty of first-degree criminal abuse by a Kenton County jury. Stokes was also convicted of fourth-degree assault, while Collier faced a second-degree assault charge, according to the Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney's Office. The case unfolded in Covington, where the pair kept the boy confined to his room after removing him from school in 2023 and subjected him to beatings with household items and fists for over a year. Authorities announced the verdicts this week, with sentencing to be scheduled later. Stokes was arrested on December 12, 2024, and Collier on January 8, 2025, both booked into the Kenton County Detention Center. The boy's aunt discovered scars across his body in December 2024 and took him to the Northern Kentucky Children's Advocacy Center, where he described the ongoing abuse. Covington Police detectives investigated the claims. Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney Rob Sanders described the injuries at the time, stating, 'Her 9-year-old son was found by a family member to have scars and marks all over his body where he had been beaten with a number of different items that we think includes an electric cord and some type of hanger.' Sanders noted the parents avoided school scrutiny by homeschooling, adding, 'The parents know the marks they left on the child would cause alarm with school staff and cause them to call police.' He called the abuse 'basically torture,' saying the boy would bear physical and mental scars for life. The jury recommended 16 years for Stokes and 24 years for Collier, with Collier's assault sentence to run concurrently.