By BILLY TOWNSEND | The Tampa Tribune
Published: April 18, 2008
BARTOW - A Winter Haven father was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison in the death of his 10-week-old son, who suffocated last year after the man tried to stop him from crying by stuffing his mouth with a washcloth.
snip
The sentence was part of a plea agreement that saw a grand jury's first-degree murder charge dropped to manslaughter.
The Polk County State Attorney's Office agreed to the deal because of concerns over its ability to prove murder in the death of Daidon Murray.
"We had serious evidentiary concerns," said state attorney spokesman Chip Thullbery.
snip
Murray told Barkley to get a washcloth, and he "secured it" with the masking tape. He put Daidon in a car seat and stuck him in a closet before sitting to watch television.
Barkley said she checked on the infant several times in the next half-hour or so and noticed that he was breathing "as if he was congested." By her last check, Daidon had stopped breathing and was getting cold.
Barkley said she tried to call 911, but Murray prevented her, saying he would hurt her if she interfered in his efforts to revive the baby.
Much more at link:
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/apr/18/father-sentenced-10-years-death-infant/
Desmond Murray
Sentence Date: 04/17/2008
Offense: Homicide, Manslaughter-Culpable Negligence
Sentence: 10 years
Current Release Date: 11/15/2016
05/07/2008 - Out of Dept. Custody by Court Order
Does anyone know what that means? I wonder if it is connected to the evidentiary issues they were having? I'm also wondering why there would be evidentiary issues in this case, unless there was some question as to which parent actually killed the child. I fail to see why they weren't both charged.