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Man sentenced for killing toddler
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An Indiana, Pa., man was sentenced Monday to between 27 months and 10 years in prison in the suffocation of a toddler last year.
Shawn Anderson-Holmes, 28, admitted in October to placing a pillow over the face of Colby Jozefczyk, his girlfriend's 16 month-old, and trying to make it look like an accident, Indiana County District Attorney Patrick Dougherty said.
Medics were called March 5 to a home on Hemlock Way in Saltsburg after the boy's mother, Kayla Lyons, called 911 to say that her son was not breathing. Anderson-Holmes had been living in the home for about five days.
When Saltsburg Chief Gary Walker arrived, a neighbor was performing CPR on Colby, who was "cold to touch and blue," according to an affidavit in the case. Medics took Colby to Excela Latrobe Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Anderson-Holmes pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, a charge that Mr. Dougherty said was appropriate because there wasn't evidence that the killing was intentional or premeditated.
"He took responsibility for taking the life of [the child] ... Everyone involved in the system was satisfied with the outcome."
While investigating Colby's death, state police said they developed evidence that Ms. Lyons had abused the boy and his older sister. Mr. Dougherty said she was charged with assault of an older sibling and received a probationary sentence from the court. She was not directly linked to Colby's death, he said.
First Published January 29, 2013 12:00 am
