Tensions ran high in a Bridgeport courtroom Wednesday as a man charged in a brutal domestic violence beating that killed a 6-year-old boy appeared in court. Abdulrahim Sulaiman didn’t have to wear a spit hood, as he had at previous appearances after two incidents where Sulaiman allegedly attacked judicial marshals and spit on them. There were no issues in that regard this time.

But things escalated once Sulaiman saw Jathan Escobar’s family in the gallery, which included the boy’s father. Sulaiman mouthed insults at them. Then it got loud.

“I'll expose you any day,” Sulaiman stated to them as Jathan’s loved ones yelled back, calling him a coward.

Judge Tracy Lee Dayton quickly got things under control.

"Mr. Sulaiman. You look at me. And everyone, I know there's a lot of emotion, but this needs to be quiet," Dayton told the courtroom.

“I wanted to wring my hands around his neck, but I wasn't able to,” Victor Escobar, Jathan’s uncle, told News 12 outside the courthouse. “Our family is really going through a tragic time right now, and we just want justice for our nephew.”

Sulaiman is accused of using a baseball bat to attack his wife and her two little boys in their apartment on Sept. 25. Bridgeport police responded to the corner of Main Street and Capital Ave. just before 10 a.m. after receiving multiple 911 calls, including one from Sulaiman's wife.

"Please help! He's hitting us with a bat! My kids! My kids! My son! Please help us! Please! Please!" she begged, according to the police report, which noted screaming and banging in the background of the call.

Arriving officers arrested Sulaiman as he was walking away from the building. Jathan and his 4-year-old brother had to be airlifted to the hospital where Jathan later died.

Police interviewed Sulaiman’s wife who said he’d been smoking PCP for days and had accused her of cheating on him, the report stated. She also said he previously beat her and threatened to kill her and her children. According to the report, police searched the apartment and found a handgun wrapped in a blanket in the kitchen area.

Sulaiman is now charged with murder with special circumstances, which carries a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He faces several other charges in the attack including attempted murder, assault, risk of injury to a child and criminal possession of a firearm. Sulaiman is also charged with assault on a public safety officer and disorderly conduct for two later incidents at Bridgeport Superior Court.

On Wednesday, Sulaiman initially appeared subdued and responded calmly to the judge's questions about his decision to waive a probable cause hearing, which defendants charged with murder are entitled to but often waive. The hearing determines whether there’s probable cause to try the defendant. Sulaiman also pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The courtroom peace didn’t last once the hearing ended with shouts exchanged as Sulaiman was led out of the hearing.

He is being held on $11,050,000 bond and is due back in court Nov. 25.

The Connecticut Department of Children and Families confirmed it is conducting a joint investigation with police into Jathan’s death.

"At the time of the incident, the Department was not involved with the mother and children but had interacted with them approximately two months prior to the report being received," DCF commissioner Jodi Hill-Lilly said in a statement.

Sulaiman served seven years in prison in New Jersey for aggravated assault, according to prosecutors.

He also has several prior convictions in Connecticut. In September 2022, he pleaded guilty to assault of a police officer, risk of injury to a child and violation of a protective order. He was sentenced to two years in prison and four years of probation. Sulaiman was also previously convicted of engaging police in a pursuit, larceny and drug possession. He was on probation at the time of his arrest in the domestic violence case.