Family praying for miracle after 6-year-old allegedly beaten by stepfather declared brain dead

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WFSB/Gray News) - The family of a 6-year-old Connecticut boy is holding onto hope that he will survive after police say he, his mother and his brother were beaten by his stepfather with a baseball bat.

Jathan Escobar, 6, is on life support and has been declared brain dead, his family says, but they are not giving up and are instead praying for a miracle, according to WFSB.

“He has no blood flow to his head. It’s not flowing past his head. His heart is beating off of medicine is what they’re telling us, and he’s on a ventilator, as well,” said Sasha Heron, Jathan’s cousin. “We are religious, and we do believe he can come back with a miracle.”

Police say the boy’s stepfather, 38-year-old Abdulrahim Sulaiman, was charged with attempted murder and other crimes following a domestic violence incident last Wednesday. He is accused of using a baseball bat to beat his 33-year-old wife, Jathan and the boy’s 4-year-old brother, Eli Escobar.

Prosecutors claim Jathan has a close to 0% chance of survival, but his family is still holding out hope. They describe the 6-year-old as a beautiful soul despite being surrounded by violence.

“He was always so happy, and he just enjoyed life altogether, no matter what was going on. He was always so happy with everybody,” Heron said. “It just hurts us to see that he had to go through such violence.”

The family is looking to transfer the 6-year-old to another hospital for long-term care.

Sulaiman is being held on a $10 million bond. His wife told police he had been smoking PCP recently and was violent.

The family says the mother only knew Sulaiman for a year and has been married to him for a couple of months.

“I knew he was hitting her because she told me, and I knew he threatened to kill her and the kids,” said Sandra Escobar, Jathan’s aunt.

The family claims they reached out to the Department of Children and Families multiple times about Sulaiman being violent and threatening. DCF wouldn’t confirm that they had been reached out to but said the department, along with Bridgeport Police, is investigating.

Two GoFundMe pages have been set up to support the family. They can be found by clicking here or here.

WFSB reached out to Sulaiman’s attorney and is waiting to hear back.

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