[TexasKamaAina]

You’re right about the step-dad. An unrelated adult male in a household is, statistically, a risk factor for the children. But it doesn’t sound like it was physical violence. The kid was severely undernourished. Mom had to have been complicit with that. Maybe the poor kid was starving and the step-dad landed a fatal blow.

[adorno]

But it doesn’t sound like it was physical violence.

The story above says the kid was severely beaten and placed in a box. Undernourishment is the lesser part of the story.