ALLISON SHIRK

Sun Newspapers

ENGLEWOOD — A 270-pound Englewood man pinned his young son on the couch and smothered him to death on Christmas Eve — all without breaking stride on the video game he and his girlfriend were playing at the time, authorities said Thursday.

James "Rick" Dearman, 31, of 920 Lord St., is being held on $1 million bond at the Sarasota County Jail for his role in the death of his 6-year-old son, also named James Dearman, according to Sarasota County Sheriff's spokeswoman Kaitlyn Johnson. Dearman originally was charged on Wednesday with aggravated child abuse, but the state amended the charge to aggravated manslaughter of a child — a first-degree felony — at Dearman's first court appearance on Thursday.

An SCSO report states deputies arrived around 10:10 p.m. Dec. 24 and found paramedics performing CPR on the 6-year-old boy on the living room couch of the Lord Street residence. Deputies said the child later was pronounced dead at Englewood Community Hospital. Authorities reported seeing bruising on the victim's back.

Ashley Cole told deputies that at around 7:30 p.m. that night, she and her boyfriend Dearman were playing video games in the living room, and Dearman told the victim and his 7-year-old sibling to go to sleep in a separate bedroom on some blankets that had been placed on the floor.

According to the report, the children were running around the bedroom and would not go to bed, so Dearman forced them to stand in the living room facing the wall as punishment.

Cole said the 6-year-old boy turned around and was caught watching Dearman and Cole playing video games. Dearman allegedly became angry and made the boy lie on the couch sideways, with his face against the rear couch cushions. Then Dearman, who is 6-foot-1 and 270 pounds, sat on top of him.

Cole told deputies the young boy was screaming that he could not breathe under Dearman's body weight and was attempting to free himself. After approximately five minutes, Cole said the child became motionless under Dearman's body.

The victim's sibling told law enforcement: "When Dad squished him, he got dead."

The sibling also said that during the struggle, the 6-year-old was crying and said he needed to use the bathroom, but when Dearman denied him, the victim urinated on himself and Dearman.

Cole's Facebook page shows photos of Dearman, Cole and two young children — a boy and a girl — in 2014.

The report states after the victim's body stopped moving, Dearman and Cole went to the garage to smoke a cigarette, and when they returned to the living room, they found the child's lips were blue and he was not breathing.

Cole told authorities she ran into the garage "to pray," and Dearman called 911 and attempted to perform CPR on the child until paramedics arrived.

Cole has not been charged in the incident as of Thursday evening.

Dearman remained quiet and emotionless in the SCSO video of his first appearance. A representative with the state attorney's office said the mother of the two children has been searching for Dearman for the past three years.

According to Dearman's assistant public defender, a Georgia warrant that Dearman was arrested on on Monday has been dismissed by the Georgia courts. Dearman had an outstanding warrant in that state for three counts of animal cruelty and one count of criminal damage to property.

SCSO deputies also planned to return to Dearman's home Thursday, serving another search warrant to the residence. The Sarasota County Property Appraiser's website states the home Dearman and Cole were living in is owned by a Ruth M. and Herman J. Klingenberger Jr., of Ontario, New York. At one point, a James A. and Ruth M. Dearman owned the home, and it is not clear how, or if, they are related to Dearman.

Neighbors on Lord Street described themselves as shocked and heartbroken on Thursday to learn of the death of the 6-year-old boy they often would see playing outdoors with his sibling.

While the neighbors said they did not know the parents, they called the children the cutest little kids, and described the boy as an especially friendly child.

The victim's 7-year-old sibling was placed in the custody of the state Department of Children and Families. DCF officials said Thursday they have had no prior contact with the Dearman family.

Dearman's prior arrest history also includes a 2008 arrest for desertion from the U.S. Navy.

Sun Staff Writer Steve Reilly contributed to this report.