Pair Charged in Death of Son Tied to Tree

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A couple accused of tying their 13-year-old son to a tree for two nights to punish him for disobedience has been charged with murder in his death. Brice Brian McMillan, 41, of Macclesfield, told a deputy that the child was being disobedient and was forced to sleep outside Tuesday while tied to a tree. The teenager was released Wednesday morning but again tied up that night for bad behavior, authorities said. The boy was left tied to the tree until the following afternoon when his stepmother found him unresponsive, Sheriff James Knight said. Knight said authorities believe the boy was bound to the tree with plastic ties and possibly other kinds of material. The sheriff also didn't have details on why the boy was being punished, although he said deputies were investigating whether he had run away. Dwight Jefferson, an emergency responder with Pinetops Rescue Squad who was first on the scene, said he did not know the cause of the child's death. "What we found was a 13-year-old laying on the ground - CPR being done by his father," Jefferson said. "Then we took over." Knight said the boy was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead