Man beat 5-year-old to death after throwing the boy’s mother off a cliff, records say

The man charged with murder in the death of 5-year-old James Spoonamore admitted that he bludgeoned the boy to death with a metal object, according to court records.

Lonnie Belt, 41, of McKee told police how he killed James after he pushed the child’s mother, Jessica Durham, off a cliff Friday in a dispute over money, the records show. Durham was left for dead.

Belt has been charged with murder, the kidnappings of James and Durham, assault and evidence tampering. The murder charge was added Monday night after authorities recovered James’ body about 180 feet off Sparks Ridge Road in the Daniel Boone National Forest, police said.

A search for James had been underway since his mother was found Saturday, badly injured, at the bottom of an 80-foot cliff. She was found by hikers. James’ body was about six-tenths of a mile from his mother’s, police said.

Durham’s account of what happened was included in a search warrant affidavit filed in court by Kentucky State Police trooper Scott Townsley. Durham told Townsley on Saturday that on Friday, Belt came to her home and told Durham that she needed to go with him to his house because her husband, David Durham, was at Belt’s house, passed out. Belt told Jessica Durham she needed to take David Durham home.

Jessica Durham and her son got in Belt’s vehicle, and Belt drove them to his house at 196 Turkey Foot Road, according to the court record. Once they were inside, Belt struck her in the back of the head with a metal object and tied her up. Belt put a hood over her head and put Durham and James back in his vehicle. When the vehicle stopped, Belt took Durham from the car and threw her off the cliff.

Jessica Durham told police she last saw her son in the vehicle.

Townsley said in the documents that he found Belt on Saturday, hiding inside his house, where Townsley also saw a blood stain on the floor in the area where Durham said she was assaulted.

In the search of the house Saturday, police seized a hammer, a green Pontiac Grand Prix, five swabs of suspected blood, a piece of drywall, two pieces of door frame; black jogging pants, a short-sleeved shirt and a long-sleeved shirt, according to the court document.

This story was originally published September 12, 2017 at 2:11 PM with the headline "Man beat 5-year-old to death after throwing the boy’s mother off a cliff, records say."