JACKSON COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) – The man accused of pushing a woman off a cliff and then killing her 5-year-old child has pleaded not guilty in the case.
Lonnie Belt entered the plea in Jackson District court. Belt is accused of the murder of James Spoonamore after an altercation with his mother over an alleged theft of $200.
Dozens of emergency workers, some mounted on horses, spent days looking for the boy, only to find his body about a half-mile from where his mother was rescued.
Kentucky State Police detectives testified that Belt beat James to death with a metal object. Police say that Belt did not want to leave a witness after the brutal beating of the boy’s mother.
The judge ruled that there was probable cause for the murder and assault charges.
Belt is being held on a $1 million bond.
