Mo. couple charged with murder in toddler's death

A central Missouri mother and her boyfriend are charged in the fatal beating of a toddler whose injuries initially were blamed on a hit-and-run.

Morgan County court records show that 21-year-old Thomas Presley and 25-year-old Jamie Ann Litton — both of Stover — face one count of second-degree murder in the death of 3-year-old Blake Litton. Litton also faces two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. They are both jailed on $100,000 bonds.

Morgan County Sheriff Jim Petty said Presley called 911 Thursday morning to report that the boy had been struck by a hit-and-run driver on a highway about 100 miles southeast of Kansas City. The boy was rushed to a hospital and later pronounced dead.

Petty said the deputy was immediately suspicious of the hit-and-run story.

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