Stepfather arrested for murder of seven-year-old boy

Hillsborough County deputies have arrested a man for the murder of a seven-year-old boy in a horrific case of child abuse.

Deputies say Jack Junior Montgomery, 31, called 911 Saturday morning after his stepson wouldn't wake up and was not breathing at the Masters Inn hotel in Seffner.

When rescuers arrived at the hotel, they found the little boy laying in the bed. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

Detectives say Montgomery had punched the child in the face, mouth, and stomach, and threw him around the hotel room while he was watching the boy and his three siblings while their mother was at work.

Deputies say the children witnessed the boy being beaten and were threatened with the same violence if they didn't join in beating the little boy.

Deputies say one of the children also hit the boy in fear of being hurt by Montgomery.

Deputies say Montgomery threw the little boy against a shelf along the wall, and the children told deputies their brother didn't wake up after that.

Montgomery was arrested Sunday afternoon and is charged with first degree felony murder. He's being held in the Orient Road Jail.