Man guilty of beating infant son to death
Father sentenced to 25 years; victim was 1 month old
De QUEEN, Ark.—A man charged with fatally beating his 1-month-old son pleaded guilty early Monday to a second-degree murder charge.
Vonderrick Smith, of De Queen, Ark., received a sentence of 25 years with 10 years suspended in the Arkansas Department of Correction, said 9th Judicial District West Prosecuting Attorney Bryan Chesshir.
A second-degree murder charge carries a sentence of six to 30 years.
“So he received only a little bit less then the maximum sentence,” Chesshir said.
Smith, who was 22 when his son Kason was killed, was originally charged with second-degree murder. His charge was not lessened because of the plea agreement.
Kason died Feb. 15, 2011. He was beaten so severely that 19 of his ribs were broken. He was 1 month old when he was removed from life support at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas.
Chesshir said Kason’s other relatives were in agreement with the plea deal.
“We believe this was in the best interest of justice, and the baby’s mother was in agreement with the plea,” he said.
But he also said the mother, Ashley McGaha, was a “weak link” in the prosecution’s case because she gave inconsistent statements about what happened the day Kason was killed.
“She gave different statements and different stories. I’m not sure if we ever got the truth,” Chesshir said.
The investigation into Kason’s death started when Idabel, Okla., police and Oklahoma Department of Human Services responded to a call of a monthold infant being treated for a brain bleed and fractured ribs. After receiving initial treatment in the Idabel hospital, Kason was taken Jan. 31, 2011, to the hospital in Paris, Texas, then airlifted to the Dallas hospital.
According to the arrest affidavit, investigators believe Kason’s beating was in retaliation for McGaha’s failure to obtain marijuana and hydrocodone for Smith.
On Jan. 28, 2011, Smith took Kason into the couple’s bedroom and closed and locked the door. After leaving that room, Smith took the baby into his room and closed and locked the door.
According to McGaha’s statement to police, she could hear noises from the room as if Smith were slamming the child down on his baby bed.
According to the autopsy report, Kason died of blunt-force trauma and had ruptured blood vessels behind his eyes.
Smith was represented by attorney Darrell F. Brown Jr. of Little Rock.
Brown could not be reached for comment Monday.