CONCORD, NH – A city man was sentenced to 45 years to life in the death of his 7-year-old son Jaevion Riley who died after he burned him over more than 15 percent of his body, beat him so badly he suffered a skull fracture and broken tooth, and whipped him with an electrical cord over several days in January 2023.
Murtadah Mohammad, 26, formerly of 199 Eastern Ave., Apt. 3, pleaded guilty April 1, 2025 in Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District to second-degree murder and to falsifying physical evidence for staging a crime scene in his kitchen.
At his sentencing on Tuesday, he took “full responsibility for the death of my son. I should never have used drugs and alcohol.” He apologized to his child’s mother and grandmother, as well as his family. He said he should have sought help for his mental health and drug addictions issues and that he will have to live the rest of his life knowing he caused his son’s death.
He asked the judge to “humanize me and show me a little mercy on the sentencing.”
Mohammad said he loved Jaevion. “May God forgive me for causing his death,” he said.
Jaevion’s mother, Rainah Riley, was in the courtroom at the beginning of the hearing but not for Mohammad’s apology or his sentencing. She left when Senior Assistant Attorney General Peter Hinckley began detailing what happened in the 12 hours before Mohammad called 911 because Jaevion collapsed. She let out a wail and ran from the courtroom. She returned a short time later but left again as the prosecutor continued talking about what happened to her son.
Defense Attorney Carl J. Swenson asked the judge to sentence Mohammad to 30 years in prison, with 10 years suspended, citing Mohammad’s traumatic childhood, his mental health condition and his addiction.
Hinckley asked that Mohammad, who he called a monster, be sentenced to 45 years to life on the second-degree murder child. On a falsifying physical evidence charge, for Mohammad staging the kitchen as a crime scene, prosecutors asked he be given a 2-to-4-year suspended sentence, to be imposed after Mohammad completes the sentence on the murder count.
Judge N. William Delker imposed the state’s recommendation. He noted Mohammad had a traumatic childhood which included fleeing war-torn Yemen; being abused by his father, who also abused his wife and other children; having a brother who was severely beaten in Manchester and suffered life-altering injuries; and a sister who committed suicide.
But, the judge said, while those are mitigating factors, it is “just a feather on the scales of justice”when compared to the crimes he committed against his 7-year-old son, a first-grader at Weston Elementary School.
Mohammad, he said, still hasn’t been able to acknowledge the full scope of what you did to that child.
“This is not a case where Jaevion was left unattended in a scalding hot shower. Jaevion’s injuries were the result of a sustained campaign of abuse over some unknown amount of time and given the scale, the magnitude, the variety of injuries you inflicted on him, those did not happen in a matter of seconds or even minutes. From a fracutured skull, the broken tooth, the whip marks likely from an electrical cord, to burn marks from the pan on almost all of his body from head to toe. I don’ think the human mind can iimagine how those injuries were inflicted and the horror that Jaevion experienced in that time. He would have had to screamed for his life if he was exposed to boiling water. He must have screamed his heart out …none of that deterred you,” Delker said.
The judge said Mohammad left Jaevion to suffer and ultimately die without seeking help. He said one can only hope at some point the child “lost consciousness and didn’t suffer, didn’t experience the pain for the 12 or more hours that this crime occurred.”
“This was a heartbreaking case, and today’s sentence reflects the severity of the defendant’s actions,” said Attorney General John M. Formella in a prepared statement. “We are deeply grateful to the trial team, investigators, and Manchester Police for their hard work and dedication in securing justice for Jaevion Riley. While no sentence can undo this tragedy, we hope it offers some measure of accountability and closure.”
According to court documents, in September 2022 Mohammad gained custody of Jaevion, who he called J.R.
Mohammad was living with his mother at the time, was unemployed and had no income. His mother was threatening to kick him out. At one point, she did, and Mohammad and Jaevion became homeless, living in his car.
Having custody of the 7-year-old stressed him out, Hinckley said at his plea hearing, and Mohammed told a friend he believed Jaevion had homosexual tendencies.
On the morning of Jan. 17, 2023, Mohammad called 911 about 10:20 a.m. seeking help for his son who he said had burned himself. According to court documents, Jaevion had gone into cardiac arrest that morning and by the time Mohammad called 911, it was too late. The loss of oxygen to Jaevion’s brain ultimately cause fatal swelling in the brain.
When emergency responders arrived, they found the child unconscious and suffering from scalding burns and physical injuries over his entire body.
He was taken by ambulance to the Elliot Hospital and then airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital. Jaevion never regained consciousness and died on Jan. 24, 2023.
Jaevion had suffered second and third-degree burns over 15 percent of his body; a skull fracture; loop and U-shaped pattern bruises on his body, indicative of whipped injuries; a missing upper tooth and gum and lip injuries; bruising on his face and body, and loop-shaped lash marks on his stomach and legs.
When investigators spoke to Mohammad, he told them Jaevion burned himself in a “blistering hot shower.” Detectives determined the water temperature in the apartment was set at 155 degrees Fahrenheit, 33 degrees hotter than normal.
Doctors, however, disputed Mohammad’s account of what happened, saying the burn injuries were the result of Jaevion being submerged in hot water.
Mohammad admitted to “smashing” Jaevion in the face a few times and spanking him, Hinckley said. He also admitted to hitting the child with wires because, Mohammad told investigators, the “child needed to learn not to be homosexual.”
Hinckley said investigators obtained records for Mohammad’s cell phone and determined Jaevion suffered the injuries the day before. That night, Mohammed made calls and internet searches, which he deleted from his cell phone. At 8 p.m. on Jan. 16, 2023 – 14 hours before he called 911 – Mohammad did internet searches for scalding burns, including how to treat them, and the mortality rate for children suffering from them.
The burns, Hinckley said, were visible to everyone who saw the child. The burns, he said, would have been extremely painful.
The following morning, four hours before he called 911, he researched first and second-degree burns. That morning he also called the school to say Jaevion had the flu and wouldn’t be in school for a week and also called to cancel a scheduled visit Jaevion had with his mother that day.
He also drove to a gas station that morning, where he bought a $2 beer, and to a pharmacy where he purchased a First Aid kit.
Hinckley said had Mohammad got the proper medical attention for Jaevion the night before when he was first injured “the child might have lived.”