KINGSPORT, Tenn. (AP) -- A Sullivan County man entered a last-minute guilty plea to reduced charges in the death of his girlfriend's toddler son and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Twenty-seven-year-old Shawn Anthony Mullins entered the plea Monday as his case was going to trial.
Mullins was charged with felony murder and aggravated child abuse in the 2005 death of 2-year-old Christopher Smith. He could have faced the death penalty if convicted.
But District Attorney Greeley Wells told WJHL-TV that pathologists couldn't agree on whether the fatal injuries occurred when the toddler was exclusively in Mullins' care.
Mullins pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. He will serve 30 years behind bars without parole eligibility.
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Information from: Kingsport Times-News, www.timesnews.net
Information from WJHL-TV, Johnson City, http://www.wjhl.com
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
