HIAWATHA, Kan. (AP) A northeast Kansas man has been given the maximum sentence for the beating death of his 4-year-old son.
KNZA-FM reports Lee Davis IV, 27, of Hiawatha, was sentenced Friday to nearly 20 years in prison.
Davis was initially charged with first-degree murder but pleaded no contest in April to second-degree murder and felony child abuse.
The son, who has been identified only by a set of initials, died March 5 at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.
The sentence imposed by Brown County District Judge Jim Patton requires Davis to register as a violent offender for 15 years after completing his prison term.
A woman who lived with Davis at the time of the killing faces a September hearing on multiple charges, including aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
