UPDATE 9/22/20: Suspect has been charged with murder.
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By Lucy Perry 
Indiana Central News

A young boy is dead after police say he was beaten by his father on the weekend. The victim would have turned 8-years-old next month.

Brandon L. Pritcher, 27, of Terre Haute, was booked into the Vigo County Jail Saturday at about 11 a.m. He is charged with neglect of dependent, a level 3 felony; domestic battery, a level 3 felony; and aggravated battery, a level 3 felony.

Emergency crews responded to the 3100 block of S. 9 1/2  Street on a report of an nonresponsive 7-year-old child around 5 a.m. Saturday. 

Officers initiated CPR until Terre Haute Fire Department personnel transported the boy to a local hospital. The child was eventually transported to Riley Children’s Hospital -- where he was barely clinging to life. 

According to the court documents, the suspect struggled with the realization of what had happened, prior to the crews' arrival to the residence that morning. In fact, he admits he had sent a text messages to an ex-girlfriend, confessing to the crime, just before calling 911.

"He sent a text message to [the woman] saying he thinks he accidentally killed [his son,]" 
Detective Donald Toney, of the Terre Haute Police Department, states in the probable cause affidavit. 
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At the emergency room, officials immediately recognized signs of child abuse. 

Toney notes the child was observed to have bruises and welts all over his buttocks and his body.  Emergency room staff indicated the victim had suffered blunt force trauma to his head, near his ear. The boy was not expected to survive his injuries, and did die a short time later.

Meanwhile, the suspect changed his story a couple of times about how the boy was injured.

Initially, he said he had confronted his son about stealing money and lying, when the boy became upset and began banging his head on the wall. Later, he said the boy was hitting his head on the bed, just after he had whipped him with a belt in the hallway. Pritcher eventually admitted to hitting the child on the side of his head and the back of head before the child locked himself in his bedroom.

Finally, the child walked out of the bedroom , made an unusual sound, and collapsed to the the floor. 

Pritcher reportedly said he unsuccessfully attempted to revive his son and also tried to get rid of marijuana he had been smoking before the incident before calling 911.

Pritcher remains held in the jail on no bond. He is scheduled to appear in Div. 3 Circuit court Tuesday morning.