John Jefferson
Inset: Brianna Rufina Bloyer (Fayette County District Attorney). Background: The residence where her boyfriend’s son was killed (Google Maps).
A Pennsylvania woman is behind bars for killing her boyfriend’s 2-year-old son after previously searching online for how to get rid of bruises, according to law enforcement in the Keystone State.
Brianna Rufina Bloyer, 30, stands accused of one count of homicide, according to the Fayette County District Attorney’s Office.
Authorities allege the defendant not only engaged in extreme violence against the toddler but callously left him to die after the fact.
Bentlee Myers was fatally beaten on Aug. 16, according to a criminal complaint obtained by The Observer-Reporter, CBS News, and Pittsburgh-based NBC affiliate WPXI.
Early in the afternoon on the day in question, another adult arrived at Bloyer’s residence on Old Lake Lynn Road in Springhill Township — a small community just across the border with West Virginia.
There, the other adult found the child unresponsive.
Nearly as concerning, that person learned Bloyer was aware of the state the boy was in but had not called 911, law enforcement allege.
The person who did call 911 is not identified in the complaint.
The other adult told emergency dispatchers the child’s feet were propped up, that his face was blue, and that he did not appear to be breathing, according to the complaint. First responders rushed the boy to a nearby hospital — but it was far too little, far too late; medical staff pronounced him braindead, and Bentlee succumbed to his injuries on Aug. 19.
Doctors discovered the boy was covered in bruises and had suffered numerous internal injuries as well. His official cause of death was listed as “cardiac arrest by head trauma.”
On the day of the fatal incident, Bloyer allegedly told investigators the child had been staying with her for roughly two weeks. The defendant allegedly went on to say that when she woke Bentlee up that morning, he stumbled around and then collapsed, according to the complaint.
A search was effectuated at the residence and law enforcement obtained Bloyer’s phone. On the device, police allegedly turned up the following search from Aug. 16: “how to get someone to come to when you pass out.”
Additional incriminating Google searches were made between Aug. 8 and 9, including: “why am I so much more angry while pregnant” and “what better to make bruises fade overnight,” police allege.
The boy’s father’s girlfriend also allegedly googled “homemade bruise cream” and apparently wanted to know how long it takes for carpet imprints on a face to fade away by searching: “carpet imprint in face how long does it take to go away.”
Police confirmed the woman’s phone did not dial 911 on the day the fatal injuries were incurred, according to the complaint.
Pressed to account for his son’s injuries, the boy’s father had no idea the bruises were even there, police say. The father did, however, allegedly tell investigators he noticed his girlfriend was stressed around and frustrated with the child.
A follow-up interview was scheduled with Bloyer on Sep. 25, police say, but she allegedly never showed. In the interim between that missed meeting and her recent arrest, the defendant’s car was seen in Indiana and then Arizona, police say.
Bloyer is currently being detained without bond in the Fayette County Jail.
The defendant is slated to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 20.
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