New York woman pleads not guilty to torturing, murdering boy

By Laila Kearney NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York City woman accused of torturing and beating to death a 4-year-old boy she was babysitting pleaded not guilty to murder on Thursday, prosecutors said. Kryzie King, 27, was initially indicted on assault charges in the death of Myls Dobson. But after a medical examiner released a full report on the condition of Dobson's body, prosecutors obtained a superseding indictment that added a charge of second-degree murder. "Myls Dobson was forced to suffer unimaginable pain in the last weeks of his short life," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement. "Now, we will do our best to ensure that justice will be served in his memory." The child was left in King's care at her Manhattan apartment starting on Dec. 17 while Dobson's father served prison time, the statement said. King was accused of repeatedly beating Dobson over the next three weeks, binding his hands and feet, locking him outside in extremely cold temperatures and burning him with an oven rack, the statement said. New York police responded to King's home on an emergency call on Jan. 8 and found Dobson "burned, bruised, cut and emaciated," the statement said. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital a short time later. If convicted of second-degree murder, King would face up to life in prison, an official with the District Attorney's Office said. King's attorney Bryan Konoski was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Eric Beech)