Aunt: Brandon McInerney Severely Abused

More details of severe physical abuse suffered by Brandon McInerney at the hands of an addict father emerged in the California teen’s trial for the 2008 murder of Lawrence “Larry” King, who was shot and killed in an Oxnard classroom.

Megan Csorba, McInerney’s aunt, testified Thursday that the 17-year-old defendant's father, Billy, began punching his son when he was 7 years old, would sit on him until he couldn’t breathe, and would pull his thumbs back until he screamed, the Ventura County Star reports on the case.

Csorba corroborated earlier testimony from McInerney’s older half-brother about a violent household and parents who used drugs including crystal methamphetamine. McInerney’s father died in 2009 — toxicology tests showed drugs and alcohol in his system at the time of death.

Csorba did not report the abuse, however, she said during cross-examination with Ventura County senior deputy district attorney Maeve Fox.

"I was going through my own abuse and I was not gonna do that to my brother," Csorba said.

Read the Ventura County Star report here.