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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- An 8-year-old California boy was beaten to death with a hammer while protecting his sister from being sexually assaulted.

On Sept. 1, investigators say Dante Daniels' mother’s ex-boyfriend, 23-year-old Deandre Chaney Jr., attacked the little boy with a hammer, KTXL reports. Chaney Jr. allegedly killed him while he was engaged in committing a lewd act on Dante’s 7-year-old sister.

"This guy beat my grandson with a hammer. Down to his spine. They couldn't save his brain," said Dante's grandmother Monique Brown.

At some point, Chaney Jr. turned a hammer and knife on Danae, as well as the children’s mother.

Dante was declared brain dead after the attack, and six days later, he died.

Both Salone and Danae survived, but Brown says her daughter will probably never see out of her left eye again and her granddaughter has a long journey ahead.

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