nurseronda
January 13th, 2009, 11:28 PM
A man charged with murdering his 2-month-old son has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter.
Levonn Haywood, 25, of Oak Grove, admitted to “lightly shaking” Jamez Haywood on April 8, 2006, according to court documents. He was alone with the child when the injuries occurred.
Jamez was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., where he died. He reportedly suffered from retinal hemorrhages, brain injuries and bleeding and rib fractures. Vanderbilt officials said that medical records indicated that the injuries were consistent with more than one incident of significant trauma caused by an adult, according to court documents.
Levonn Haywood was set to stand trial Monday in Christian Circuit Court and entered a plea shortly before a jury was decided upon, said Commonwealth’s Attorney Lynn Pryor.
Levonn’s wife and Jamez’ mother, 24-year-old Vanessa Haywood, who was a soldier at Fort Campbell at the time of the incident, was also charged with murder and first-degree criminal abuse and arrested in October. She was later released on her own recognizance.
Pryor said Vanessa Haywood was not set for trial because she was going to testify against her husband Monday. Her case has been continued until March 25, the day of Levonn Haywood’s sentencing.
Pryor is recommending he be sentenced to 10 years, the maximum sentence for second-degree manslaughter. She also fined Levonn Haywood $1,500 to cover the cost of the jury pool showing up Monday morning, she said.
“We don’t believe that (Levonn Haywood) intentionally killed the child,” Pryor said, stating second-degree manslaughter is a version of wanton murder.
A similar case of infant abuse resulted similarly several months ago.
Robert Curlee, 29, of Oak Grove, who was an Army soldier assigned to Fort Campbell as a combat medic, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and first-degree criminal abuse after being charged with the murder of his 8-month-old stepdaughter, Jillian Niles.
Jillian died on Oct. 10, 2004. Her injuries included broken ribs, broken fingers, fractures to the skull, multiple bruises on her face and ears and bite marks, according to court documents.
Curlee was sentenced to 10 years on Nov. 12. The murder charge against Jillian’s mother, Megan Niles-Curlee, was dismissed and she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of endangering the welfare of a minor, a misdemeanor that she was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation for.
http://www.kentuckynewera.com/articles/2009/01/13/news/free/doc496cdb29ad2d6935852036.txt
Levonn Haywood, 25, of Oak Grove, admitted to “lightly shaking” Jamez Haywood on April 8, 2006, according to court documents. He was alone with the child when the injuries occurred.
Jamez was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., where he died. He reportedly suffered from retinal hemorrhages, brain injuries and bleeding and rib fractures. Vanderbilt officials said that medical records indicated that the injuries were consistent with more than one incident of significant trauma caused by an adult, according to court documents.
Levonn Haywood was set to stand trial Monday in Christian Circuit Court and entered a plea shortly before a jury was decided upon, said Commonwealth’s Attorney Lynn Pryor.
Levonn’s wife and Jamez’ mother, 24-year-old Vanessa Haywood, who was a soldier at Fort Campbell at the time of the incident, was also charged with murder and first-degree criminal abuse and arrested in October. She was later released on her own recognizance.
Pryor said Vanessa Haywood was not set for trial because she was going to testify against her husband Monday. Her case has been continued until March 25, the day of Levonn Haywood’s sentencing.
Pryor is recommending he be sentenced to 10 years, the maximum sentence for second-degree manslaughter. She also fined Levonn Haywood $1,500 to cover the cost of the jury pool showing up Monday morning, she said.
“We don’t believe that (Levonn Haywood) intentionally killed the child,” Pryor said, stating second-degree manslaughter is a version of wanton murder.
A similar case of infant abuse resulted similarly several months ago.
Robert Curlee, 29, of Oak Grove, who was an Army soldier assigned to Fort Campbell as a combat medic, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and first-degree criminal abuse after being charged with the murder of his 8-month-old stepdaughter, Jillian Niles.
Jillian died on Oct. 10, 2004. Her injuries included broken ribs, broken fingers, fractures to the skull, multiple bruises on her face and ears and bite marks, according to court documents.
Curlee was sentenced to 10 years on Nov. 12. The murder charge against Jillian’s mother, Megan Niles-Curlee, was dismissed and she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of endangering the welfare of a minor, a misdemeanor that she was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation for.
http://www.kentuckynewera.com/articles/2009/01/13/news/free/doc496cdb29ad2d6935852036.txt