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Man pleads guilty in baby shaking death
Posted: 12.06.2012 at 7:15 AM
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(AP) -- LAMAR, Mo. (AP) -- A southwest Missouri man admits he accidentally killed his ex-girlfriend's 4-month-old son when he shook the baby.

Twenty-eight-year-old Jonathan Rector pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in a plea deal after originally being charged with second-degree murder. His sentence will be limited to 15 years in prison.

During a hearing Monday in Barton County court, Rector admitted he injured Kaiden Stevens by shaking him on Feb. 17 in what he called a fit of rage. He was babysitting the boy while his mother was at work.

The Joplin Globe reports (http://bit.ly/QJCBjT ) Rector initially said the boy was hurt in a fall. But during an interview with law officers, Rector admitted to shaking the child.

Kaiden died at a Kansas City hospital three days after he was injured.

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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