Dad with custody/visitation rights, step charged with 2nd-degree murder in beating death of 14-year-old son (Jefferson Parish, Louisiana)

Dad FURNELL DANIEL's custody rights are not spelled out here, but he obviously had plenty of access.

See the Killer Dads and Custody list for Louisiana.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2016/02/father_accused_of_sons_death_b.html

Father accused in son's death booked with beating younger child with tent pole

Furnell Daniel, left, and his wife, Terri Daniel, left, were rebooked second-degree murder in the death of Jalen Daniel, 14. Furnell Daniel is accused of fatally beating his son with a piece of wood. Terri Daniel knew of the incident but did not report it to authorities or seek medical help for the boy, Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office investigators said.

Michelle Hunter, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune on February 26, 2016 at 2:53 PM, updated February 26, 2016 at 3:02 PM

Furnell Daniel, the Waggaman man accused of fatally beating his 14-year-old son because of low grades, was rearrested on charges of disciplining his 9-year-old son using tent poles. Daniel, 43, was rebooked Wednesday (Feb. 24) with cruelty to a juvenile, a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office arrest report said.

Investigators Feb 6 booked Daniel and his wife, Terri Daniel, 30, with second-degree cruelty to a juvenile after his son, Jalen, 14, was hospitalized in grave condition with a severe head injury.

Authorities accused Furnell Daniel of hitting Jalen Daniel several times with a piece of wood in their Waggaman home Feb. 5. Terri Daniel, Jalen's stepmother, is accused of knowing about the incident but failing to alert authorities or seek medical attention for the boy.

"He is loved and will be missed by everyone that knew him," Jalen Daniel's mother said.

Jalen was pronounced brain dead Feb. 8 of an epidural hemorrhage due to a skull fracture from blunt force trauma, the Jefferson Parish coroner's office said. The Sheriff's Office then upgraded the charges against the couple to second-degree murder.

Detectives interviewed Furnell Daniel's 9-year-old son, who told them his father would hit him with a tent pole, said Lionel "Lon" Burns, Daniel's defense attorney. The Sheriff's Office obtained a warrant for the Daniels' home and found 16 tent poles in the garage, leading to the arrest, Burns said.

The most recent charge is no indication that Furnell Daniel intended to kill Jalen Daniel, Burns said. He characterized his client as a man who wanted to discipline his sons and keep them on the straight and narrow. 14-year-old victim beaten with piece of wood for low grades, JPSO said.

"Unfortunately, that discipline went a bit too far," Burns said. "He made a mistake, but he shouldn't be looked upon as a murderer."

Daniel was being held Friday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna in lieu of a $310,500 bond.