Man Who Killed Infant in Play Pen Gets Sentence and Rebuke From Judge

Janita Kan
By Janita Kan
January 5, 2018US News
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Man Who Killed Infant in Play Pen Gets Sentence and Rebuke From Judge
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A Michigan man who was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend’s 18-month-old son was handed his sentence along with a harsh scolding from the judge on Jan. 4.

Scott Jurewicz was found guilty in November last year of first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse in the death of Brenden Hartranft.

Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wilson sentenced the 29-year-old man to life in prison without parole—but not without rebuking Jurewicz for his crime, reported MLive.

“I think you’re a psychopath,” Wilson said during the sentencing. “You affected so many lives. Seeing your complete lack of conscience, I don’t think you’ll do well in prison.”

“Your mother, if she wants to see you, can see you in prison. Brenden’s family don’t have that option,” he added.

Before the sentencing, Jurewicz apologized to the Hartranft family.

“I’d just like to sincerely apologize to the Hartranft family for the situation, for this tragedy, and I’m sorry you had to sit here for two weeks and relive this nightmare,” Jurewicz said, reported the news station.

Jurewicz admitted to police that he gave Brenden a shake before putting him hard down into the playpen when the boy wouldn’t stop crying in March 2015.

“After 10 minutes of crying, I got upset and picked Brenden up and shook him and put him down harder than I should have,” Jurewicz wrote in a police statement, reported the news station.

“I put him down hard,” he wrote.

Brenden suffered from abusive head and neck injuries. A short while later he died from his injuries after emergency personnel was called.

“You didn’t just kill a child, you destroyed everyone’s life,” Brenden’s grandmother, Dawn Wilson, said to Jurewicz, reported the news station.

“I hope you can never forget his name. You have blood on your hands. I wish I could put a photo of Brenden in your cell so you would never forget what you did to him,” she added.

During police investigations into Brenden’s death, Jurewicz began a relationship with another woman, Andrea Conaway. The woman’s 21-month-old son Jesse Pepper Jr. was found dead in his playpen in May 2015, reported MLive. The child was reportedly smothered and suffered blunt force trauma to his head.

Prosecutors presented evidence about Jesse’s death at Jurewicz’s trial even though he has not been formally implicated in the boy’s death, reported the news station. Conaway hasn’t been formally charged but is reportedly considered a suspect.

 

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