12-year-old James ‘Alex’ Hurley died a brutal death at the hands of his evil grandmother, Patricia Batts, who issued a single blunt statement during sentencing
James Alexander Hurley, known as “Alex” to loved ones, knew plenty of tragedy in his short life, which ended at the hands of his own grandmother.
The 12-year-old boy had been living with his paternal grandmother, Patricia Batts, and her husband, James Sasser, in Yellowstone, Montana, following the tragic death of his father, Tommy Tate. A devastating accident had left Tommy requiring multiple amputations, including both his feet, and, in 2018, he died following complications from surgery.
Naturally, the little boy was heartbroken. His mother, Alicia, who lived in Texas, had custody of Alex, but it was decided it was best for the child to remain in Montana for the remainder of the school year.
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He’d settled in well at school and had made friends. Plus, he had a home with Batts and Sasser. On the surface, it had seemed like the right choice.
By the summer of 2019, however, Alicia grew concerned about Alex, who would only communicate via text or Facebook messenger – never over the phone or FaceTime call. He also repeatedly told her he was too busy to speak.
Worried, Alicia endeavoured to bring her son home to Texas to be with her, but was soon met with resistance from Batts, Crime Monthly reports. While Alicia tried in vain to contact her son, she had no idea that evil Batts had taken Alex out of school in September 2019, under the guise of homeschooling him.
From this point on, Alex was rarely seen by anyone else outside of the immediate household. Testimony later given by Batts and Sasser’s daughter, Madison, sheds light on what life had been like for Alex behind closed doors.
Madison, who was just a teenager at the time, was charged over her involvement in the devastating events, but was ultimately given probation in exchange for testifying against her parents.
Addressing the court during the eventual shocking trial, attorney Elizabeth Montoya told of how Madison had witnessed her parents’ torturous behaviour towards Alex, which included slapping, kicking and punching. Recounting how Madison has seen Batts and Sasser put Alex in “chokeholds and deprive him of love and attention”, Ms Montoya added that this was an environment where “Alex was the enemy.
Madison’s parents were the generals, and the other kids in the household were soldiers”. Alex’s mum, Alicia, believes the sick couple were only motivated to keep her son in their care out of greed, as they’d been receiving social security benefits that should have gone to the little boy in the wake of his father’s death.
On February 3, 2020, Alex died during the night, and when paramedics arrived at the scene, they found his body on the floor of the living room. He was bruised, with signs of malnourishment, but those in the household claimed not to know what had happened to him.
In an attempt to paint her grandson as a problem child, Batts told investigators that Alex had been self-harming and hearing voices, having entered a downward spiral after his dad’s death. It’s believed she’d hoped this would explain away his grave injuries, but officers weren’t fooled.
An autopsy determined that Alex had died of blunt force trauma to the back of his head, while footage showing him being tortured was recovered from phones seized from family members.
In May 2020, Batts pleaded guilty to deliberate homicide. She also pleaded guilty to felony criminal child endangerment for failing to seek medical assistance for Alex after he was fatally injured, and to witness tampering by attempting to get family members to give false statements to investigators, as per NBC Montana.
In August 2023, Batt was given a life sentence for killing Alex, and was also handed 10-year sentences for each of the other charges. District Judge John C. Brown stated at the time: “This is a horrific case of child abuse. It was totally unnecessary, and it was done with malevolence.”
After she was sentenced, Batts issued just one simple statement: “I regret not being the grandmother Alex should have had.”
Meanwhile, in 2022, Sasser was sentenced to 100 years behind bars for his role in Alex’s death. Sasser, who pleaded guilty to deliberate homicide, child endangerment, and tampering with a witness, acknowledged during his sentencing that he had failed to protect Alex.
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