An Oklahoma court has convicted a stepfather in the brutal murder of a 10-year-old boy. John Lawrence Miles III, 34, reportedly fatally beat his stepson, Orlando Hugger Jr., and then burned his body to conceal the evidence. Miles and his wife, Camille Lewis, reportedly abused the boy and his unnamed sister for an extended period of time. Police learned of the horrific abuse when the children’s biological grandmother contacted them for help.
According to a news release from the Tulsa Police Department issued in February 2023, Lewis’ mother contacted police after her daughter allegedly left her 13-year-old daughter to live with her. The child apparently showed signs of abuse and Lewis allegedly told her mother that Orlando was dead. An investigation led police to arrest the mother and stepfather and ultimately to a conviction.
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Miles reportedly abused the children for years.
According to police, the teenage girl told investigators her mother and stepfather beat her and Orlando with belts and cords and locked them in a closet for days at a time. The parents reportedly withheld food and made them urinate and defecate in a bag in the closet. She said the abuse began in November of 2020. It reportedly continued until she went to live with her grandmother in September of 2022.
The girl accused her stepfather of terrible things.
Police reported the 13-year-old girl told investigators Miles would sometimes offer her food in exchange for sexual favors. She added that her parents forced her and Orlando to sleep in an igloo-style doghouse in the backyard. The children were made to exercise outside in extremely cold weather.
Orlando succumbed to the abuse.
According to police, the teenage girl reportedly heard her mother crying in March 2021 and begging her brother to wake up. The mother told her daughter Orlando had a seizure and died. Lewis and Miles did not take him to the hospital, however, because they feared they would get into trouble. Instead, Miles and a cousin reportedly buried Orlando’s body in a park.
A jury convicted Miles of the unthinkable.
In August 2021, Miles reportedly dug up Orlando’s remains and brought him back to the family’s home. After returning, the stepfather burned what was left of his stepson and discarded his ashes in a drainage system. The allegations came to light in January 2023 after the grandmother turned in the parents. Police arrested Lewis on February 7, 2023, and Miles the next day.
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Orlando’s father began to cry in court.
The boy’s biological father, Orlando Hugger Sr., reportedly broke down when the court announced its verdict, per Fox 23. The jury found Miles guilty of two counts of child abuse and torture, four counts of child neglect, one count of child abuse without torture, one count of child sexual abuse, one count of first-degree murder, and one count of desecration of a human corpse.
“This is the most horrific and gruesome case I have seen in my career as a prosecutor,” Tulsa County Assistant District Attorney Amy Dickens said. “The torture, abuse and neglect these children faced day after day is abhorrent. We can’t bring back Orlando Hugger, Jr., but we hope this is one step closer into getting justice for the atrocities he faced.”
The jury recommended life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder conviction. They also recommended six life sentences plus 55 years for the other eight counts. The court will sentence Miles on December 19.
Lewis will face a jury trial at a later date.