Advertisement

Father gets maximum sentence in fatal beating of infant son in their N. Minn. home

Emery J. Jenkins to serve in prison for eight years.

August 19, 2016 at 2:21AM

A northern Minnesota man with a violent criminal history received the maximum sentence for killing his infant son, whose injuries included a skull fracture, broken ribs and what appeared to be cuts or bites to his chest, hands and feet.

Emery J. Jenkins, 39, of Inger, was given a term of 15 years on Wednesday in Itasca County District Court, the "maximum sentence and an upward departure" from the state's sentencing guidelines, County Attorney John J. Muhar said in a statement.

With credit for time served in jail since his arrest, Jenkins will serve the first eight years and two months of his sentence in prison and the balance on supervised release.

Jenkins was initially charged with second-degree murder in the October 2014 killing of Joseph, not yet 3 months old, at the family's home, and the charges were quickly upgraded to first-degree murder. He pleaded guilty in July to a lesser charge, first-degree manslaughter, but professed his innocence while agreeing there was enough evidence to convict him in a trial.

At the time of his arrest, Jenkins told authorities he dropped Joseph on his head in a bathtub and that a neighbor's dog had bitten the boy while the infant was in a car seat. The charges against him said he beat the boy because he wouldn't stop crying.

Court records show numerous acts of domestic-related violence committed by Jenkins in Minnesota from 1995 to 2010. He's been convicted three times for domestic assault, once for violating a protection order, twice for other assaults, three times for disorderly conduct and once for drunken driving.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

Advertisement
about the writer

about the writer

Paul Walsh

Reporter

Paul Walsh is a general assignment reporter at the Minnesota Star Tribune. He wants your news tips, especially in and near Minnesota.

See Moreicon
Advertisement
Advertisement

To leave a comment, .

Advertisement