‘Absolute Horror’: Authorities Report California Barber Killed 6-Year-Old Boy by Beating Him with Lumber After Accidental Urination Incident

A California barber has been taken into custody after allegedly fatally assaulting a 6-year-old boy for an accident involving urination, Sydtomarket.net has learned.

On August 29 at around 6:30 p.m., Chance Crawford’s mother left him in the care of 41-year-old Ernest Lamar Love at his barbershop in Placentia while she worked as a nurse’s assistant at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Orange County.

Authorities reported that Love took the child to a local park and later, at approximately 10:30 p.m., surveillance footage showed Love entering his barber shop carrying a large piece of raw lumber, with Chance trailing behind him.

Several hours later, police said Love brought the unconscious and struggling boy to the emergency room at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

Doctors discovered severe injuries on Chance, including extensive flesh wounds on his buttocks, a subdural hematoma, significant brain swelling, and other injuries consistent with violent shaking. The boy also had a healing fracture on his shoulder blade.

Investigations revealed that Love had allegedly beaten Chance with the lumber and applied hydrogen peroxide to the wounds. He reportedly forced the child to perform physical exercises until he collapsed.

Chance died from his injuries on September 3.

Love has been charged with murder, child abuse, and torture, and he has pleaded not guilty. He is being held without bail and, if convicted, faces up to 32 years to life in prison.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer condemned the act, stating, “While his new classmates were celebrating the end of the first week of first grade, Chance’s seat in his classroom was empty as he fought for his life in a hospital bed. Words cannot describe the sheer terror this little boy endured—at the hands of someone who was supposed to protect him, not torture him to death.”