Man Gets Life In Prison For Killing 4-Month-Old Daughter
YPSILANTI TWP. (WWJ/AP) - A 20-year-old Ypsilanti Township man will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing his 4-month-old daughter.
Davontah Nelson was sentenced earlier this week in Washtenaw County to life without the possibility of parole for the felony murder of Amareah Nelson last October.
Nelson will concurrently serve 15 years for first-degree child abuse. Both are the maximum sentences.
Medical personnel responded to Nelson's home after he called for help, and found his daughter Amareah unresponsive. According to investigators, Nelson was the only adult home with Amareah and his other child, an 18-month-old who was uninjured.
Shortly after being treated at the hospital, Amareah was pronounced dead due to her injuries, which included a fractured skull, lacerated liver, retinal hemorrhages and fractured ribs.
In court, Nelson gave several versions of what happened. He was accused of punching and throwing his infant daughter.
"We're probably never going to know what specifically happened in that apartment," Judge Donald Shelton said. "Only the defendant knows. And a 2-year-old."
The defense said the autopsy by the Washtenaw County medical examiner was botched.
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