Father Fatally Punched 5-Year-Old Son Over Cheesecake: Documents

MILWAUKEE, WI — A Milwaukee man is facing charges after reportedly punching and smacking his 5-year-old son, injuries that led to the boy's death. Travis Stackhouse, 29, admitted to punching his son in the stomach because he was angry the boy had eaten his Father's Day cheesecake, police say.

Police responded to Stackhouse's home on the 2600 block of West Ruby Avenue around 2:50 a.m. Saturday, June 22, on a sick or injured complaint. An officer arrived to find fire department members performing CPR on the boy. He was pronounced dead at 2:59 a.m.

The boy had "bruising to the left and right eye, a cut to the inner lower lip, and a laceration to the mid sternum," charging documents say. He also had three healing cuts on his back.

The documents say Stackhouse, of the 2600 block of West Ruby Avenue, initially told police his son had fallen down the stairs. He claimed that in the afternoon, his son was playing Nerf basketball upstairs with his 6-year-old brother when he saw the boy "somersaulting down the stairwell," the document says.

Stackhouse told police that his son seemed fine. The document quotes him as saying his son went back upstairs, but a short while later told him he wasn't feeling well.

But police also interviewed the boy's 6-year-old brother. He said he saw his father punch his brother in the stomach and back, then that his brother died. His little brother never fell down the stairs, he told police.

After police confronted him with his 6-year-old son's statements, Stackhouse admitted to punching his son in the stomach Friday because the boy was eating his Father's Day cheesecake. "[Stackhouse] only had one piece of the cheesecake and was upset that others were eating it," the document says.

Stackhouse also reportedly admitted to hitting both sides of the boy's face with the back of his hand and that he had a metal rod in his hand.

Despite admitting to punching his son, the document says, Stackhouse maintained that the boy had fallen down the stairs as well.

He was charged with recklessly causing the death of his son "under circumstances which showed utter disregard for human life." If convicted, Stackhouse faces up to 60 years in prison.