VINCENNES, Ind. (AP) - Investigators believe an Indiana man charged with strangling his 5-year-old son planned the fatal attack for when his other children wouldn’t be home, according to court documents released Friday.
Robert J. Baldwin, 53, of Vincennes told investigators he tried to smother Gabriel Baldwin with a pillow on Tuesday, but then choked the boy using a USB cord, a police affidavit said. The father, who weighs 300 pounds, said he then sat on the boy until he stopped breathing, the Evansville Courier & Press reported (https://bit.ly/2ohofh4 ).
The affidavit does not cite a possible motive for the attack. The boy died Thursday at an Indianapolis hospital, and his three siblings - ages ranging in age from 3 to 12 - have been placed in foster care, the newspaper reported.
Online court records don’t list an attorney for Baldwin, who was being held in jail without bond.
The affidavit alleges that after the attack, Baldwin called 911 to report he killed his son. He remained at his residence until police arrived and led them to a bedroom where they found the child, whose “face was blue, and he had no pulse,” investigators wrote.
Baldwin has been charged with murder, strangulation and domestic battery. Knox County Prosecutor Dirk Carnahan filed court documents showing he intends to seek a sentence of life in prison without parole.
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Information from: Evansville Courier & Press, https://www.courierpress.com
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