Prosecutors: Abused boy lived in closet

DENVER, July 30 (UPI) -- A Denver man has gone on trial on charges that he starved his ex-girlfriend's son to death and forced him to sleep on the bottom shelf of a closet.

During opening statements Tuesday, a lawyer for Jon Phillips told the jury that Chandler Grafner died of diabetes, not of mistreatment, The Denver Post said.

"This is not a case about long-term starvation," attorney David Jones told the jury.

Phillips and his girlfriend, Sarah Berry, took custody of Chandler and his half-brother, Dominick Phillips, after their mother was accused of abusing the boys. Phillips is Dominick's biological father. Berry is scheduled to be tried separately.

Deputy District Attorney David Lamb showed the jury pictures of Chandler's body after his death last year at the age of 7. The boy slept in "a space no larger than an oven," he said, and was forced to lie in his feces and urine and not given food and water.

Employees from Chandler's school were expected to testify Wednesday, KCNC-TV in Denver said.