Witness: Slain Neo-Nazi Dad Physically Abused Son

RIVERSIDE - The stepmother of a 12-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting his neo-Nazi father as the man slept testified today that the youngster was frequently abused by the victim.

''He would sometimes lose control and start beating on Joseph?'' Riverside County Deputy Public Defender Mathew Hardy asked Krista McCary during cross-examination.

''Yes,'' McCary said.

''And this happened on a daily basis?'' Hardy asked.

''Sometimes,'' McCary replied.

McCary testified that she was essentially a mother to Joseph Hall from the time he was about 2 years old.

The boy is charged with first-degree mu...