Inset: Gunner Michael Jones (Iowa Department of Public Safety). Background: The Hamilton County Jail (Google Maps).
An Iowa man will spend one-and-a-half decades behind bars after killing a woman's 10-month-old son he was supposed to be caring for.
On Friday, Gunner Michael Jones, 28, pleaded guilty to one count each of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment, according to Hamilton County court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
In quick fashion, the defendant was sentenced to spend 15 years in state prison and pay $150,000 in restitution to the victim's estate.
The investigation in the case began during the early morning hours of April 16, 2023, at a residence on 3rd Street in Webster City — a small town located roughly 75 miles northwest of Des Moines.
At around 1:45 a.m. that day, the Webster City Police Department and paramedics arrived in response to a 911 call from the child's mother about her infant "being unresponsive and turning blue and cold to the touch," according to an affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
Neither the child nor the mother have been identified by name.
"The infant was provided emergency medical care and transported to Van Diest Medical Center," the charging document reads. "At the hospital, along with the observations of the medical emergency, unusual bruising consistent with inflicted child abuse was observed."
The little boy was then transferred to Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines, where he succumbed to his injuries, police said.
A lengthy investigation followed.
An autopsy determined that "multiple blunt force injuries to the infant's head" caused the child's death, according to the affidavit.
In November 2024, Jones was charged with one count of murder in the first degree and accused of "having malice aforethought, willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation" killing the 10-month-old.
On the night in question, the defendant and the infant's mother were the only other people in the residence, investigators determined.
"Ultimately, the Defendant and [the child's mother] informed law enforcement that there were no apparent medical issues with [the boy] when [the child's mother] went to sleep and that the Defendant remained awake in the residence with [the boy]," the charging document goes on. "This timeline leaves the Defendant as the only individual alone with [the boy] prior to the injuries being inflicted."
In December 2024, Jones pleaded not guilty, according to a report by Mason City-based CBS and MyNetworkTV affiliate KIMT.
He was scheduled to go on trial in February of this year, but that court date was continued until July, The Daily Freeman-Journal reported.
In July, however, prosecutors added the child endangerment charge instead. The defendant subsequently pleaded guilty.