Thursday, November 7, 2024

Navy veteran gets 8 years in death of newborn son

Deandre Maurice Routt Southside Daily photo/Courtesy of Virginia Beach Sheriffs Office)
Deandre Maurice Routt Southside Daily photo/Courtesy of Virginia Beach Sheriffs Office)

VIRGINIA BEACH — A Navy veteran here has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for the death of his 8-week-old son.

Deandre Routt, 24, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and child abuse for the 2015 death of J’dyn, who suffered numerous fractures and died that June.

Routt told his wife then that J’dyn fell off a sofa. He later told police J’dyn was dropped.

A doctor who treated J’dyn testified the injuries were consistent with violent shaking. Another doctor, pediatrician and child abuse expert Michelle Clayton, testified Wednesday that J’dyn’s severe brain damage and skull and rib fractures couldn’t be attributed to a fall.

Routt was initially charged with second-degree murder, but prosecutors say the charges were downgraded because his wife refused to cooperate with authorities.

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