TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man convicted of killing a 3-month-old boy by tossing the infant out of a moving vehicle has been sentenced to life in prison.
Following a jury’s recommendation, a Hillsborough County judge sentenced 26-year-old Richard McTear on Tuesday. Jurors found him guilty last week of first-degree murder, kidnapping, battery, and aggravated child abuse charges. Prosecutors had been seeking the death penalty.
Authorities say McTear attacked ex-girlfriend Jasmine Bedwell in 2009 and then took off with her son, Emanuel Wesley Murray. They say he then threw the baby out of a car window on Interstate 275 in Tampa.
The child was found dead along the side of the highway.
Defense attorneys argued that McTear was innocent and questioned the mother’s credibility.
A previous court proceeding against McTear ended in a mistrial.
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