It wasn't the first beating for the 321/2-pound boy.

His small frame showed signs of healing rib fractures, multiple scars and healing abrasions, according to a Hamilton County medical examiner's report released Thursday.

But the beating - which police say was unleashed by a 225-pound man wielding a belt on Monday night - would be the last for 4-year-old Tyre'ke Evans.

Neighbors in the Harriet Tubman public housing complex said they watched Monday night as Tyre'ke's mother, 23-year-old Patricia Brewer, carried him to a car and strapped him into a car seat before driving to Children's Hospital at Erlanger.

According to the report, Tyre'ke was dead when he arrived at the hospital.

The medical examiner's report reveals that Tyre'ke's liver and bowels were jaggedly torn. He bled internally, his brain was swollen, he had recent and healing rib fractures and his lungs were bleeding.

The probable cause of death was "multiple blunt force trauma," the report said.

Brewer and her boyfriend, 21-year-old Kenneth D. Coleman, face charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated child abuse. Brewer's bond is set at $3 million, and Coleman's is set at $4 million. Both are scheduled to appear Wednesday before Hamilton County General Sessions Judge David Bales.

On the night Tyre'ke died, Coleman initially told medical staff that the boy fell down the stairs. He later admitted to detectives that he beat Tyre'ke and his 3-year-old brother, Donamiche Brewer, with a belt, according to a police report.

Donamiche was hospitalized with injuries including liver damage and severe dehydration. An arrest report documented "multiple bruises and abrasions on the hands, abdomen, forehead, back and pubic bone."

"He's been all right," said the father of both boys, Donamiche Evans.

The father said he spent three hours Thursday with Donamiche, who still is healing in the intensive care unit, then made funeral arrangements for Tyre'ke.

Since the boy's death, Coleman has been added to a Chattanooga Housing Authority trespass list that documents people not allowed into its housing projects, authorities said.

Charlotte Boatwright, who is chairwoman of the Domestic Violence Coalition of Greater Chattanooga, said abusive behavior often is taught.

"It's hard to change behavior with something like this," she said.

"[People] need better skills and parenting classes. People are less prepared for being a parent than for any job we have in the world. It's one of the most important jobs. If you don't know any differently, it's hard to behave differently."