KOKOMO—A 23-year-old Kokomo man will go to prison for 65-years for the murder of his girlfriend's two-month-old son.
Jaquail Smith was sentenced in Howard County Circuit Court, Wednesday, one month after jurors found him guilty.
The victim, eight-week-old August Minniear, died from severe head trauma in November, 2017.
According to court documents filed by the Howard County Prosecutor, Smith was watching the baby while his mother was visiting a friend.
Kinzie Minniear told police she returned home and found her son's head was swollen.
Kokomo police began their investigation when the infant was brought to Howard Regional Hospital with serious head injuries.
At the time, Smith told investigators he was playing video games when he noticed the baby had stopped breathing.
He claimed he did not know how August had been injured and said he had shaken and pinched the infant until breathing resumed.
Smith tested positive for THC, amphetamine and methamphetamine the night August died.
