A 25-year-old Virginia Beach man was sentenced on Tuesday for charges of second degree murder and child abuse/neglect after a 2-year-old child died in his care in 2012.
Jerrell Cortez Edwards was found guilty of the charges in September of 2013. His punishment was fixed at 30 years, and a judge imposed that sentence on Tuesday.
On April 5, 2012, 2-year-old Jaiden Lewis’ mother left him in the care of Edwards, her boyfriend at the time, while she went to attend a college class.
When she returned home hours later, Edwards told her that Jaiden was bleeding from the mouth and unresponsive.
Virginia Beach Police investigators found that Jaiden’s injuries were inflicted while he was alone with Edwards.
The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the abdomen, with two of the injuries being fatal; a ruptured stomach and liver.
Jaiden also had multiple bruises and lacerations internally, as well as bruising to his ribs, lips, face, head and cheeks.
