BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A Baton Rouge man has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2014 beating death of his 5-year-old son.
Thirty-nine-year-old Vernell Day was convicted Feb. 3 of second-degree murder in the killing of Jay’v’une Bergin. The Advocate reports (https://bit.ly/2lE8k8j ) Day had taken custody of the child just four months before his death.
The child died from blunt-force trauma to the head. The East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office also documented multiple bruises, damage to the optic nerves in both eyes and a separation of the neck vertebrae.
District Judge Lou Daniel called Day’s actions “incomprehensible.”
Day says his son’s death was accidental, and occurred as he played “helicopter,” swinging him around. He said he lost his grip and the boy’s head slammed into a wall and door.
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Information from: The Advocate, https://theadvocate.com
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