Jagsheer Singh hit his son on the head with an object.
An Indian American man, Jagsheer Singh, 30, of Bayside, New York, who had earlier pleaded guilty to beating his 4-month-old son – who later died – was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Singh had pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter and assault charges for striking his infant son Nevin Jandu in the head with an object, the Queens District Attorney’s office said. He was sentenced last week, reported the New York Daily News.
Police found the boy unresponsive the morning after Singh’s wife, Reena Malhotra, a radiologist at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, had left him alone with Singh for the night on Dec. 19, 2014.
Doctors discovered massive skull fractures and brain injuries, officials said. The child died several days later.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown called the sentence given by Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard Buchter, as more than warranted.
“As a father, the defendant’s job was to protect and nurture his helpless, innocent son,” Brown said in a statement. “Instead, he assaulted his son, causing skull fractures and widespread brain injury that ultimately resulted in the child’s death. As a result, the sentence imposed by the Court is more than warranted.”
DNAinfo reported Singh originally told hospital officials his son had fallen from a changing table, but an investigation later found his injuries to be inconsistent with a fall, according to authorities.
Singh was arrested first on assault charges, which were later upgraded to manslaughter.
His wife and the baby’s mother, Dr. Reena Malhotra, pleaded with a judge in March 2015 to let her husband free — saying he is a “loving and caring father and husband,” according to the Daily News.