Video Shows 'Pure Evil' Mom Fatally Slam Her Toddler on the Ground: Police

A North Carolina mother fled with her young son to Maryland where video surveillance captured her beating the toddler to death, according to police.

Gloria Elena Hughes, 37, of Morganton, North Carolina, is facing charges of first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death after she was found carrying her lifeless 3-year-old son down North Main Street in Bel Air, Maryland early Sunday morning, the Bel Air Police Department (BAPD) said in a statement on Monday.

Investigators soon discovered that Hughes had fled from her hometown of Morganton, with her 3-year-old son, Jason Garcia, amid a child custody battle, according to court documents obtained by Baltimore station WMAR. The toddler's father had contacted local police on December 2 warning that she may be taking the boy to Maryland.

Newsweek reached out via email and social media on Monday to the BAPD for comment. It was unclear at the time of publication whether Hughes had retained an attorney who could speak on her behalf.

On Saturday, a witness reported spotting Hughes and Garcia in a vehicle in Bel Air, and later that night, she brought the toddler to the emergency room at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center after he ingested a suppository, the station reports.

Video surveillance shows Hughes and Garcia leaving the hospital at 12:15 a.m. on Sunday.

Roughly five hours later, surveillance cameras at a self-storage business on North Main Street in Bel Air captured Hughes violently struggling with her 3-year-old son, the charging documents state.

, the documents allege, noting that he did not move for over an hour afterward.

Medical staff who examined the child said he had what appeared to be road rash on his face and a large skull fracture, which they believe led to his death, Washington, D.C. station WUSA reported.

Around 5 a.m. on Sunday, an off-duty Harford County Sheriff's deputy was driving by the location and saw Hughes "standing in the street, holding a lifeless infant child," BAPD said in the statement shared to Facebook on Monday.

Life-saving measures were immediately initiated on the child, and he was transported to the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center but was pronounced deceased at roughly 6 a.m., Bel Air police said.

"Based on significant evidence, including video evidence, the child's mother has been criminally charged with homicide," BAPD said. "There are no additional suspect(s) in this investigation nor is there a threat to the community."

The investigation is ongoing and a motive has yet to be determined, police said.

"The Bel Air Police Department and our partners are committed to ensuring justice is served in honor of and to uphold the dignity of this slain child," BAPD said.

Hughes is currently being held at the Harford County Detention Center.

"It's heartbreaking," Bel Air Police Chief Charles Moore told Baltimore station WBAL. "It's evil. That's pure evil when you see something like that. It hurts all of us."