Listen to the 911 call

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Callers to 911 seeking help for a 13-year-old boy who authorities have said was tied to a tree for two nights didn't answer a dispatcher when asked what the teen was doing before he stopped breathing.

A recording of the 911 call released Tuesday begins with a woman telling the dispatcher: "Our little boy stopped breathing."

The dispatcher repeatedly asks the woman and later a man what the child had been doing before he stopped breathing. Neither responded. The man said the boy did not have any medical problems.

Thirteen-year-old Tyler McMillan later died at a hospital.

Prosecutors have charged his parents -- 41-year-old Brice Brian McMillan and 36-year-old Sandra Elizabeth McMillan -- with murder and felony child abuse.

Authorities have said they tied the boy to a tree as a punishment for disobedience.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Monday's Update

A couple charged with murder in the death of their 13-year-old son -- who police say died after he was tied to a tree for two nights -- have made a brief appearance in an Edgecombe County court.

An arrest warrant says Tyler McMillian was tied to the tree for nearly 18 hours. It says the 13-year-old had "bruising to the wrist, cuts to entire body, missing flesh from buttox...resulting in death".

Attorneys appeared Monday with 41-year-old Brice Brian McMillan and his wife 36-year-old Sandra Elizabeth McMillan of Macclesfield.

Edgecombe County District Court Judge Joseph Harper formally informed the couple of the charges against them. A probable cause hearing was scheduled for July 2.

The hearing comes the same morning that Tyler McMillan was buried. The 13-year-old's funeral was an hour later the Jarvis Memorial United Methodist Church in Greenville.

The family released the following statement today:

"We would like to thank the many friends and family who have shown support for us during our time of loss. We will miss Tyler very much and are in shock, disbelief and unbearable grief."

Edgecombe County Sheriff James Knight said the McMillans are accused of tying the boy to a tree for two nights to punish him for disobedience. He was found unresponsive outside the house on Thursday.

Original Story
Macclesfield, NC -The Edgecombe County Sheriff's office says a 13-year-old boy is dead after the father tied the boy's hands and ankles to a tree from Wednesday night to Thursday afternoon. The father and stepmother are both charged with murder.

The Edgecombe County Sheriff's office says a 13-year-old boy is dead after his father tied the boy's hands and ankles to a tree and left him.

Lawmen say 41-year-old Brice McMillan told them his son was being disobedient on Tuesday, so the boy was made to sleep outside while tied to a tree. The family lives on Felton Farm Road in Macclesfield.

They say the boy was untied Wednesday morning and allowed to return to the home.

On Wednesday night, lawmen say the boy was again tied to the tree where he remained until Thursday afternoon. They tell WITN-TV the boy's stepmother, 36-year-old Sandra McMillan, found the boy unresponsive around 4:30 p.m. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Temperatures were near 90 degrees in Edgecombe County Thursday.

The father and stepmother have been charged with first degree murder and felony child abuse. They are being held in the Edgecombe County Detention Center under no bond.

Two other children in the home, ages 7 and 9, were placed in the custody of Department of Social Services.

The children's mother died of cancer several years ago. Her name was Michelle "Mickey" Sasser McMillan. She once worked at WITN-TV and was a school teacher in Pitt County. Mickey is remembered as a delight to be around, always cheerful and a great mother. Those who knew Mickey well say she was loved and took great care of her family and co-workers.

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