Prognosis grim for bludgeoned Ariz. boys

PHOENIX, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- Two Arizona boys who were allegedly beaten in a park by a man with a baseball bat are not expected to survive their injuries, officials say.

Cousins Jesse Ramirez, 7, and Edwin Pellecier, 10, of Phoenix, were listed in extremely critical condition and are unlikely to survive their bludgeoning injuries, The Arizona Republic reported Thursday.

Joe Sauceda Gallegos, 36, who lives near the park where the Wednesday attack happened, was arrested on two counts of child abuse and one count of a dangerous crime against children and is being held on $1 million bond, police said.

A probable-cause statement filed by the court indicated that a search of Gallegos' home produced an aluminum bat and what appeared to be blood-stained T-shirts. Police said they viewed surveillance tapes made by a neighbor of Gallegos that appeared to show him walking toward the park with a long object in his hand, and then returning several minutes later.

"We don't know the motive," Sgt. Tommy Thompson, a Phoenix police spokesman, told reporters. "He followed these two boys to the park and bludgeoned them."

Gallegos had been treated for mental illness earlier this year, records show.