A judge sentenced a Minnesota man Monday to 25 years behind bars for punching his infant daughter to death because he was irritated by the baby noises she made.
The judge handed down the 25-year sentence for second-degree murder to 21-year-old Cory Morris despite his claim that “he did not know what he was doing” and therefore could not be held responsible for his daughter’s death, the Daily Mail reported.
Morris, of Minneapolis, was arrested in August 2016 after he punched his four-month-old daughter Emersyn Morris 22 times before he told the baby’s mother and grandmother what he did and called 911.
Police and EMTs arrived at the scene to find Morris with his hands covered in blood and his shirt stained with blood.
A criminal complaint obtained by CBS Minnesota states that there was blood splattered on the floor and wall by the changing table inside the baby’s room.
Paramedics found Emersyn lying unconscious on the nursery’s changing table and performed CPR on her before taking her to Hennepin County Medical Center, where she died as a result of blunt force trauma to her face and chest.
Morris told officers that he was in charge of taking care of his daughter while Emersyn’s mother went to her job as a personal care assistant.
He said that the four-month-old began making baby noises while he was watching television. When he heard the noises, he took her out of the baby swing and carried her to the changing table in her bedroom.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said once the infant was on the changing table, Morris punched the baby in the face with a closed fist 15 times, hit her in the chest seven times, and squeezed her by the chest with both hands “to quiet her.”
Jennifer Andersen, Morris’s girlfriend, tried to get in contact with him all day but did not receive a response.
Anderson finally reached Morris at 4:45 p.m. when he responded that he was “going to jail” for what he did to their baby.
Andersen told investigators that Morris suffered from mood swings, grabbed her, and threw things in the past.
Cory Morris’s mother also noted that Morris had issues with anxiety and depression.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Morris told authorities after his arrest that he suffered from schizophrenia and “heard voices.”
Morris’s relatives, including his girlfriend, tried to seek mental health treatment for him before the incident happened, KSTP reported.
A judge found Morris guilty of killing the infant in April, but the court still had to decide whether he was responsible for the death, because of he claimed he had no idea what he was doing when the murder occurred.
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