Ga. man accused of murdering girlfriend, her 6-year-old son and setting fire to cover it up

GROVETOWN, Ga. — A Georgia man is accused of murdering his girlfriend and her sick 6-year-old son and then setting the house on fire, according to police.

The Grovetown Fire Department was called to a fire on Newman Town Road on April 1.

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When they got there, they found a man inside and it looked like he’d broken a glass window to escape the home. He was identified as Donald Beck, 32.

Firefighters rescued Beck from the home but he told them there were other people still inside.

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When firefighters put out the flames, they found the bodies of 47-year-old Karen Denise Boswell and her son, Ethan, dead inside.

The Columbia County Coroner determined that Boswell and her son had both suffered knife wounds. The Grovetown Police Department is now investigating the case as a homicide.

Beck has since been charged with first-degree arson and two counts of murder.

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According to a GoFundMe set up by Boswell back in March, Ethan suffered from a condition called OEIS or Cloacal exstrophy, which occurs when part of the large intestine is outside of the body. According to his mother, Ethan was born with the condition and had at least 14 surgeries, including one in March.

“I have been the only parent to Ethan since he was born and it’s hard, but me and him have fought this journey together,” Boswell wrote.

Friends of Boswell told the Augusta Press that she had taken unpaid leave from Starbucks to take care of her son.

A second GoFundMe has been set up to help Bowman’s remaining children.

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