Mother demands justice after Placentia barber charged with murder and torture of her 6-year-old son
LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. (KABC) -- Charlyn Saffore's heart is crushed knowing that the person she believed would take care of her 6-year-old son is accused of causing him unimaginable pain.
"I was genuinely blindsided. I trusted him with my son," Saffore said speaking exclusively with Eyewitness News. "He died a brutal death. It was brutal. He did not deserve to go out that way."
Ernest Lamar Love, a 41-year-old Placentia barber, is charged with murder and torture in the death of 6-year-old Chance Crawford.
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Chance had been in a coma since last Friday and was later declared brain dead. He was taken off life support Tuesday.
"He came in my son's life just as a male figure," Saffore said about Love. "He taught him things. He helped him overcome certain fears that my son had."
On Aug. 30, Saffore's life began to crumble after she dropped Chance off at Love's barbershop in Placentia before heading to work at St. Joseph's Hospital. Love was in charge of babysitting Chance.
Later that night, Love called to tell her he was rushing Chance to the hospital.
"He did tell me that he was doing jumping jacks. He had him working out and he fell and hit his head," Saffore said as she held back tears. "That's what's hard for me because I believed him when he told me."
Prosecutors said Love had beaten the 6-year-old with a piece of lumber after the boy wet his pants at a park. He then allegedly poured hydrogen peroxide on the open wounds and forced him to exercise until he collapsed.
Doctors at Children's Hospital of Orange County found Chance had flesh missing from his buttocks, leaving "raw, gaping wounds," along with extreme brain swelling and other injuries consistent with violent shaking, prosecutors said.
Love, who went by Azariah, was part of Amazing Church in Lake Elsinore. He was a minister and prophet.
"How could you do this to a child? It doesn't warrant what happened," said Jason Welsh, lead pastor at Amazing Church.
"He did the right things," Welsh said regarding Love. "He helped people move. He helped give advice. He helped people start businesses."
But Love had been suspended from his roles due to inappropriate behavior with women.
Welsh never suspected he would be capable of doing what he's accused of.
"We poured so much into him, and he failed us," Welsh said. "He failed us. He failed our faith. He failed us. He failed Charlyn."
Most importantly, they said he failed Chance.
"I want justice for my son because he did not deserve that," Saffore said.
She is urging other single mothers out there to be extra vigilant as to who watches their children so something like this never ever happens to them.
Saffore has set up a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses.
