Dad who claimed 2-month-old stopped breathing while in baby swing gets max sentence after autopsy revealed fatal head trauma

Inset: Nolan R. Wilson (Greene County Jail). Background: The Greene County Sheriff's Office (Google Maps).

A 28-year-old Iowa father will spend decades in prison for the death of his 2-month-old son, who died of severe blunt-force head trauma after a day in his father's care.

District Judge Jennifer A. Miller sentenced Nolan Roger Wilson to 50 years in a state correctional facility after he entered an Alford plea to one count of child endangerment resulting in the death of his son, Rowan Wilson, court records show. It was the maximum sentence possible under state law for the endangerment charge.

Miller handed down the sentence Aug. 11, after Wilson reached a deal with prosecutors that included dismissal of a first-degree murder charge.

An Alford plea results in a conviction, like a guilty plea, but lets the defendant maintain his innocence while acknowledging prosecutors have enough evidence to convict at trial.

Wilson called 911 from his home in Paton at 4:43 a.m. on Sept. 3, 2024, and reported to an emergency dispatcher that Rowan was unresponsive. He said the infant had been asleep in a baby swing and suddenly stopped breathing, according to a report from The Jefferson Herald.

First responders found the infant inside the home, and he was pronounced dead soon afterward.

The state medical examiner's office performed an autopsy and determined that Rowan's manner of death was a homicide caused by blunt-force trauma to the head.

Investigators said Wilson had been the infant's sole caregiver for about 24 hours before his death, according to court documents cited by the Herald.

Wilson addressed the court during the sentencing hearing, saying this was the "most horrible" situation he had ever experienced, the Herald reported.

The judge ordered Wilson to pay $150,000 in restitution to Rowan's estate or heirs, along with $8,500 to Iowa's Crime Victim Compensation program. He must serve at least 25 years before becoming eligible for parole.

Wilson's defense attorney filed a notice of appeal on Aug. 12, one day after Wilson was sentenced, challenging the district court's sentence. Information on the scheduling of the appeal was not immediately available.