A man has been imprisoned for 20 years after killing his 5 year old son in June 2019 over a slice of Father’s day cake.
When the boy from Milwaukee, US, died, the child’s caretakers initially told police he had fallen down a flight of stairs.
Eventually, the boy’s father told investigators the truth. He had reportedly punched the child in the stomach and hit him in the face, resulting in death, because the child had eaten the father’s slice of Father’s Day cheesecake.
On Tuesday, June 29, Travis Stackhouse was sentenced to 20 years in prison, plus an additional eight years of extended supervision, after pleading guilty to three felony charges in relation to his son’s death, according to FOX 6 reports.
The charges included second-degree reckless homicide, neglecting a child and child abuse/intentionally causing harm.
“The average person that hears about this case can’t understand how you would beat or punch any living human being as badly as you did in this case – let alone your own child,” Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge David Borowski said during the sentencing hearing, according to FOX 6.
“How you can live with yourself, even for a day, I don’t understand,” the judge added.
During the court case, prosecutors expressed concern for the safety of Stackhouse’s four other children.
Judge Borowski said the state could have sought a more severe charge against Stackhouse, but the state took into account that Stackhouse had admitted to the crime and ended a trial in order to enter a plea agreement.