A Texas man was sentenced to life in prison Thursday in the beating death of his 10-week-old son.
Joseph Matthew Welborn, 31, had pleaded guilty to injury to a child causing serious bodily injury, a first-degree felony, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Welborn originally faced a capital murder charge, FOX 4 reported. He has the possibility of parole, according to the Dallas Morning News.
The baby’s mother and grandfather found Welborn’s son Christian “unresponsive, pale, and unconscious” with blunt force trauma to his head when they returned to their Samson Park home from shopping after leaving the baby alone with Welborn on Dec. 21, 2018, the district attorney’s office said.
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Joseph Matthew Welborn was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday. (Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office)
Christian was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
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An autopsy showed he had two complex skull fractures.
When questioned by police, Welborn told several conflicting stories, including blaming his 4-year-old son, claiming the child dropped the baby.
The medical examiner confirmed in an affidavit that Christian’s injuries couldn’t have been caused by a fall and said the baby was hit as many as three times, according to the Morning News.
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“The last thing that Christian saw was his dad grabbing him and violently slamming his head,” prosecutor Katie Owens told the jury before the sentencing. “This is about giving Christian a voice. It was stolen by his own flesh and blood, his father. This sweet, innocent little baby deserved better.”
