A man from Victorville was convicted of first-degree murder and torture in connection with the 2017 death of his eight-year-old son.
According to a release from the San Bernardino County District Attorney, Shakir Omari Nunn brutally beat his son Dominic to death on Jan. 5, 2017 after Dominic – who authorities said was already deprived of food – ate some of his father’s candy.
“Dominic’s cause of death was blunt force trauma in just a matter of hours,” the District Attorney’s Office said. “During trial [doctors] testified that Dominic’s external injuries were too numerous to count.”
In addition to his extensive external injuries, Dominic also suffered a lacerated liver, damage to his spleen and intestinal and digestive system damage.
Several of Dominic’s siblings testified during trial that abuse in the household was a “normal occurrence” and that some of the punishment included whooping, punching, drowning, strangling, food deprivation, social isolation and standing in the corner for long periods of time, police said.
“Dominic, a defenseless eight-year-old, was extremely isolated from the outside world and any contact he had with anyone else was closely monitored by his father,” the DA’s office said. “Anything that occurred in the house was carefully and meticulously planned by the defendant.”
According to authorities, Shakir showed “a complete lack of remorse” for his actions and even inflicted additional punishments on his son, who was already dying, because he believed his son to be faking.
Afterward, it was reported that Shakir gathered his other children around Dominic’s unconscious body and concocted a story to explain his injuries.
“When the jury came back with a guilty verdict, they had tears in their eyes,” said Deputy District Attorney Kathy DiDonato, who tried the case. “Tears for the little boy who endured so much suffering at the hands of his own father.”
Shakir was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for first-degree murder and life in prison for torture. Both sentences are to run concurrently.
Thursday would have been Dominic’s 15th birthday, authorities said.
