Grandfather who found boy’s lifeless body testifies at murder trial

BRAMPTON, Ont. – The grandfather of a 10-year-old boy who died in the care of his father and stepmother says he never suspected anything was amiss until he found the child’s lifeless body.

Burke Boodth is on the stand for a second day in the couple’s murder trial.

Boodth testified Monday he found Shakeil Boothe lying dead on his bed on May 27, 2011, and immediately told the boy’s father — his son — to call 911.

During cross-examination today, defence lawyer John Rosen suggested Boodth had witnessed what was going on in that house long before that day, but the grandfather vehemently denied it, saying he would never tolerate “anything like that.”

Prosecutors allege Shakeil was kept chained to his bed, beaten and starved in the months before his death.

His father, Garfield Boothe, and stepmother, Nichelle Boothe-Rowe, are charged with second-degree murder.