MERIDIAN, Miss. — A Mississippi man was charged with capital murder after he allegedly beat a three-year-old girl “as hard as possible” authorities said.
It all started as Joshua Salovich, a boxer-in-training, was teaching little Bailey her numbers over the weekend.
When the child struggled with the content, investigators said the 25-year-old would “pop” her, but that quickly escalated into Salovich obtaining a bamboo rod and phone cord and hitting her as hard as he could.
The abuse allegedly continued when the little girl went to the bathroom on herself during the beating.
During an interview with police, Salovich reportedly stated, “this was a tough world and she had to be tough if she wanted to survive.”
He even admitted to beating the child at least five times per week.
The child was rushed to the hospital then airlifted to Jackson, Mississippi.
WTOK reported the child had bleeding on the brain and in her lungs, a detached retina and bruises to her body.
She died Saturday from her injuries.
The mother was reportedly in the other room with the door closed and the TV on when the incident occurred.
She has not been charged in the case.
Salovich is not Bailey’s biological father, but is listed on the girl’s birth certificate.
