Zachary Dutro-Boggess

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Four year old Zachary Dutro-Boggess was beaten to death in a Tigard homeless shelter, where he and his three siblings had lived with their mother and her boyfriend. The morning that the 911 call was placed, Dutro had placed Zachary in the shower for wetting himself, however Zachary was limp with his eyes rolling in the back of his head.  Zachary was suffering a slow and agonizing death, but Dutro didn’t call the ambulance until it was too late.

 

Only two days after Zachary had turned four, he died of blunt force trauma to his abdomen.  He was beaten so severely that his bowels and intestines were torn open, an injury similarly found in victims involved in a car crash.  The contents, fecal matter and urine, then leaked out into his body for two days, causing a deadly infection that claimed Zachary’s young life. These were not the only injury Zachary had, he was covered in bruises, abrasions and scratches. Old, dead tissue from a deep cut hung off of Zachary’s lip, an injury which a child abuse specialist has never seen before. His newest injuries from the fatal beating, show that Zachary had curled himself into the fetal position in an attempt to shield himself from the beating. On August 16, 2012, Zachary was taken off of life support, and he received his wings.

 

Zachary’s mother, Jessica Dutro, beat Zachary to death because she believed her son was gay. Dutro had sent texts to her boyfriend, Brian Canady, saying that her son was going to be gay using racial slurs. ‘he’s going to be a fag he walks and talks like it ugh it pisses me off.’  She wrote in one message.  She then wrote that Canady would have to ‘work on’ Zachary ‘big time’. Canady admitted to kicking Zachary in the stomach because he wanted to take his shoes off before sitting down to watch TV. 

 

Zachary was not the only child int the home being abused.  Doctors examined Zachary’s siblings after he arrived at the hospital, dying of traumatic injuries to his abdomen. Dutro had three other children, two of which, were also beaten regularly. Except for Dutro and Canady’s infant son. Dr. Danny Leonhardt states that he had gotten a glimpse of Zachary’s three year old brother in the hospital, and the little boys face was covered in scrapes. When the three year old was examined, he was found to have five broken ribs in various stages of healing.  Zachary’s seven year old sister had bruises covering her back, buttocks, chest and hips. 

 

Canady pled guilty to manslaughter and assault for his role in Zachary’s death after agreeing to testify against Dutro. The plea agreement meant that the four counts of murder by abuse and the count of second degree assault against him was dropped.  Canady was sentenced to 12 ½ years in prison. Dutro was charged with murder, five counts of murder by abuse and second degree assault for Zachary’s horrific murder.  After less than an hour of deliberating, the jury came back and this monster was found guilty on all charges.  Dutro was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.