Derrick Camp’s last day on earth was torturous because of his mother and Clarence Brown, a prosecutor told a jury Monday afternoon.
Brown, 39, has pleaded not guilty in Richmond County Superior Court to charges of murder and cruelty to children. His trial began Monday, Oct. 17. Jasmine Camp, 34, Derrick’s mother, pleaded guilty to murder Sept. 28, and was sentenced to life in prison. She is expected to be called as a witness.
MORE: Controversy follows arrest of Hephzibah mom after son’s drowning death
Derrick Camp was 12 years old when he died on June 7, 2020, covered head to toe in new and old injuries. He weighed less than 80 pounds.
“Derrick Camp is going to speak to you from the grave … the living hell this 12-year-old boy went through on his way to heaven,” Assistant District Attorney Ryne Cox told the jury in his opening statement.
Camp and Brown brought Derrick and four other children from Arkansas to Augusta less than a year before Derrick died. They also brought Brown’s adult sister who was developmentally disabled.
The blended family lived in a two-bedroom house with five to 10 dogs. Only Camp was working, money was tight. and food was scarce, Cox said. The children weren’t allowed food without asking permission. On June 6, 2020, Derrick took some jelly packets without permission. When Brown found out, Cox said, the punishment started with a punch to the stomach so hard Derrick lost control of his bladder.
MORE: Deputies seize 1,000 fentanyl pills, five guns in home where preschooler lived
He was forced to clean the feces and urine-covered laundry room where the dogs were kept, and when his mother came home from work the beating started with various instruments. The beating continued again when Derrick failed at the impossible task of doing a wall squat while holding books in each outstretched arm, Cox said.
Brown and Camp finally arranged with a neighbor to take Derrick to a hospital, on the way he stopped breathing, Camp called 911. They were directed to stop at a Deans Bridge Road pharmacy to meet with emergency medical professionals.
Capt. Zachary Bradford with Gold Cross was the first on the scene. In 16 years, it was the only time he responded to a dying child, and the adults weren’t crying or frantic in any way, Bradford testified.
MORE: Deputy on administrative leave after stun gun death
In the ambulance, he undressed Derrick to see if there were other injuries. Derrick was covered with welts, cuts and bruises, Bradford said. “I don’t think there was a single part of his body that didn’t have an injury.”
Brown’s defense attorney Zackary Goolsby asked the jury to withhold judgment until they heard all of the evidence. Brown is accused of horrible acts, but the real monster was Camp, Goolsby said. She admitted it initially but changed her story later, Goolsby said.
Testimony continues Tuesday.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.Â
