A judge sentenced a Cass Lake man charged in 2019 with second-degree murder to 15 years in prison on Friday.
Kevin Daniel Jackson, 29, pleaded guilty in September to one count of unintentional murder in connection with the death of a 4-year-old child in Inger, an unincorporated community in Itasca County.
Jackson appeared Friday in State District Court. Ninth District Judge Korey Wahwassuck sentenced Jackson with the state law's presumed sentencing length for one count of second-degree murder, said a news release from Itasca County Attorney's Office.
On Aug. 19, 2019, emergency workers responded to a call from the Inger home where the child was unresponsive. Efforts to revive the child were unsuccessful.
Jackson was the child's mother's boyfriend, according to the criminal complaint. The child's uncle, who was at the home when the incident occurred, told police that he heard the child crying and later found him face down on a couch covered with a blanket and that Jackson was standing over the child wearing rubber gloves.
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A couple hours later, the uncle heard the mother screaming at Jackson and asking him what happened, the complaint read. The mother told police that before she found her son unconscious on the couch, Jackson was crying and made an odd statement, so she went to check on the child. The mother attempted lifesaving efforts and called the police.
When law enforcement arrived, they located Jackson sitting on a trampoline at a neighboring residence and transported him to jail. At the time, he told police he did not know what happened.
The medical examiner found bleeding and cuts on the child’s eyes, face and nose as well as bruising on his neck. The medical team that responded to the scene said the child might have died by suffocation.
According to the criminal complaint, records indicated that Jackson was on probation at the time of his arrested for a drug offense and that he failed to attend various treatments, including a mental health and opioid use treatment.
He had nine probation violations and failed to appear in court for a hearing eight times.
The Itasca County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case with assistance from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
This story was updated at 4:16 p.m. Nov. 6 to correct Kevin Daniel Jackson's city of residence. According to the Itasca County Attorney's Office, his address has been updated since the complaint was filed. This story was originally published at 3:31 p.m. Nov. 6.
