Maryland: Father Punches 2-Month-Old Son To Death Because He Wouldn’t Stop Crying
A Maryland man who punched his 2-month-old son to death late last year has been convicted for his role in the killing after he pleaded guilty to his crime. Antoine Petty, 33, a resident of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was convicted of fatally punching his 2-month-old son Antoine Flemons on September 21, 2016. According to court documents, on the day of the incident, Petty was enraged at the infant because it would not stop crying. According to the Washington Post report, Petty punched the baby in a fit of rage after which the child became unresponsive. A panicked Petty and his wife left the unresponsive baby inside their car — a hearse — for over 24 hours before burying the body in a shallow grave in a nearby wooded area. The crime came to light more than a month later after relatives reported the child missing and local police officials launched an investigation. The body of the infant was recovered from the grave in October 2016 after the couple was questioned by authorities.
Court documents reveal what happened on the day of the incident.
On September 201, 2016, the infant baby boy, Antoine Flemons, was crying and screaming for several hours. Both the parents tried to pacify the child but to no avail. A frustrated Petty then took the baby to the balcony of their apartment and in a fit of rage punched the infant several times in the torso to quiet him. When the child did not stop crying, he brought the baby back inside, kept him on the floor, and continued punching until the baby started bleeding from his nose and mouth. Seconds later, the child became unresponsive. The couple panicked and left the baby inside their 1998 Lincoln Town car for over 24 hours. The duo then drove their car to a wooded area nearby where they buried the child in a shallow grave.
Father admits to fatally punching his infant son and leaving the body in a hearse: https://t.co/VvBUqJeGRS pic.twitter.com/9O8AVkVhfk
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 3, 2017
Both the parents confessed to their crime nearly a month later when the body of the infant was recovered on October 19. Following the recovery of the body, Antoine Petty and his wife 24-year-old Geneice Petty were charged in connection with the infant’s death. Nearly a year later, a court has found Antoine Petty guilty for his crime while his wife is still awaiting trial. Petty is scheduled to be sentenced in October.
According to prosecutors, they are asking for the maximum possible prison sentence of 40 years for Petty. Gina Ford, the spokesperson for the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, described Petty’s actions as being ‘incredibly heinous” and that he deserves every day of the proposed prison sentence.
#BREAKING Antoine Petty, PG father accused of punching his infant son to death, was indicted today @PG_SAO reports: https://t.co/AFXGr9oRUH pic.twitter.com/pCkaVrUGjk
— 7News DC (@7NewsDC) November 16, 2016
“His actions were so incredibly heinous that he deserves every day of that prison sentence. This was a defenseless 2-month-old child. Rather than consoling his son he takes his son and beats him.”
Petty’s attorney Dough Irminger has, however, asked for a lighter sentence because Petty is reported to be deeply remorseful for his actions.
[Featured Image by Prince George County Police Department]
