ELKO, Nev. (AP) - A man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the death of a baby in Elko, according to authorities.
Prosecutors say 25-year-old Nathan O’Dell pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder committed in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of child abuse.
An Elko District judge also ordered O’Dell to pay hospital costs totaling nearly $129,000.
The Elko Daily Free Press reported that O’Dell called 911 on May 12 to report the 7-month-old child wasn’t breathing.
He told police he had been caring for the infant and a 4-year-old boy for five days while their mother was working out of town.
O’Dell told police he had dropped the baby at a height of 12 to 18 inches on a tile floor in the bathroom as he was preparing to revive the child with water from the shower.
A hospital medical staff said the child had multiple skull fractures that indicated violent shaking referred to as “shaken baby syndrome.”
The baby was flown to a Salt Lake City hospital where he died on May 14 as a result of abusive head trauma resulting in brain damage.
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