Joseph Matthew Welborn, 31, had pleaded guilty to injury to a child causing serious bodily injury, a first-degree felony, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Welborn originally faced a capital murder charge, FOX 4 reported. He has the possibility of parole, according to the Dallas Morning News.
The baby’s mother and grandfather found Welborn’s son Christian “unresponsive, pale, and unconscious” with blunt force trauma to his head when they returned to their Samson Park home from shopping after leaving the baby alone with Welborn on Dec. 21, 2018, the district attorney’s office said.
An autopsy showed he had two complex skull fractures.
When questioned by police, Welborn told several conflicting stories, including blaming his 4-year-old son, claiming the child dropped the baby.
The medical examiner confirmed in an affidavit that Christian’s injuries couldn’t have been caused by a fall and said the baby was hit as many as three times, according to the Morning News.
Christian was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.Â
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