HAGERSTOWN, Md. (WJZ) — A mother and uncle are now being held without bond in the beating death of a nine-year-old boy. Investigators say the child was being punished for taking a slice of birthday cake without permission.

Meghan McCorkell has more on this disturbing crime.

Police say nine-year-old Jack Garcia showed signs consistent with torture after he was handcuffed and beaten by his mother’s boyfriend.

Investigators say Garcia was handcuffed and beaten to death all because he took a slice of birthday cake. It’s a crime that has shaken the Hagerstown community.

“He was like a little explorer. I mean, he asked so many questions. I actually seen him play down in the gully over here,” said neighbor Randy Taylor. “Frisbee with his uncle.”

Investigators say it was that uncle, 23-year-old Jacob Barajas, who handcuffed the child when he was caught taking cake. Barajas told investigators “handcuffs were placed on Jack routinely” as a form of punishment for stealing.

While restrained, police say the boy was beaten by his mother’s boyfriend, Robert Wilson, until he was stiff and unresponsive.

When paramedics were called, they say his mother, Oriana Garcia, sent them away, telling them her son was simply congested. She called for help again five hours later, when the boy stopped breathing.

Doctors examining the child found evidence of separate incidents of physical abuse consistent with torture. According to court documents obtained by WJZ, the little boy was handcuffed for one to three hours every day in the week leading up to the beating.

“There’s other ways of saying, `No, you can’t do that,'” Taylor said. “Not by handcuffing a little boy to a chair with a bike lock and a regular lock.”

Police say Garcia and Barajas had cleaned out their apartment days after Jack died and planned on leaving for the West Coast. They now face second degree murder charges.

Investigators say charges will likely be upgraded against the mother’s boyfriend.

Police say Jack Garcia had never been enrolled in school, even though he moved into the Hagerstown apartment back in March.