According to the court documents, the defendant, later identified as 27-year-old Enrico, was found guilty of first-degree murder while engaged in the commission of a felony and aggravated child abuse resulting in great bodily harm. Prosecutors said the boyfriend faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. The 27-year-old man will spend the rest of his life in prison after he beat his girlfriend’s baby to death while the boy was in his care.
On December 1, 2019, the baby’s mom, who was not identified, called the authorities and said that her child was not responsive. First responders rushed the child to the hospital where the boy was pronounced dead. The mother told investigators that she and her older children were at the local laundromat. Her boyfriend, Enrico, was the only other person with the child.
The mother also told investigators that when she came back home the previous night, around 7:09 p.m., her boyfriend reportedly told her that her son was fed and put to bed. Unfortunately, the mother did not check on the child again until the following morning. Hospital staff told investigators that the 1-year-old boy had bloated abdomen and a bruise on his lower back. His remains were taken to the medical examiner’s office for an autopsy. During an interview with investigators, Enrico reportedly said that he found the child unresponsive in his crib the following morning.
An autopsy reportedly determined that the 1-year-old boy died from severe injuries sustained to his internal organs due to blunt force trauma. The medical examiner reportedly said that the boy had lacerations in his internal organs as well as fractures to his spine in addition to other internal injuries. The medical examiner also told prosecutors that injuries had to have been sustained by his abdomen or back being against a hard surface and suffering hard blow to the opposite side.