A 29-year-old northern Minnesota man has been sentenced to a 15-year term for killing his girlfriend's 4-year-old son in her home.

Kevin D. Jackson, 29, of Cass Lake, was sentenced Friday in Itasca County District Court after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the boy's suffocation death in August 2019 in the town of Inger.

With credit for time in jail after his arrest, Jackson will serve about 8¾ years in prison and the balance of his term on supervised release.

On Aug. 21, 2019, emergency personnel arrived at the home about 35 miles northwest of Grand Rapids and tried to revive the boy before pronouncing the child dead at the scene.

The criminal complaint said that Jackson had on rubber gloves and was standing over the boy, who was facedown on a couch and covered with a blanket, the mother's brother told a sheriff's investigator.

The mother said she and Jackson had used methamphetamine the previous day, according to the court filing, which did not specify a motive for the killing.

Jackson's criminal history in the past nine years includes felony convictions for auto theft and drug possession. He also has misdemeanor convictions for theft and assault.

Paul Walsh