Georgia father beats weeping 4-month-old child to death after calling him 'biggest crybaby' on Facebook, gets life
HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: A man who murdered his four-month-old son just hours after complaining about him on Facebook has been sentenced to life in prison.
Ortiz Deion Smothers, Jr., pleaded guilty to one count of felony murder during an appearance in the Houston County Superior Court on Monday, October 28, The Telegraph reports.
The 23-year-old was given a life sentence in the state penitentiary with the possibility of parole immediately after his plea.
According to the report, Smothers will be eligible for parole after serving a minimum of 30 years in prison.
On the morning of June 12, 2017, Smothers and his son Omar were reportedly staying at a cousin's house in the city of Perry when the disturbing incident unfolded.
Starting around 7.30 am that morning, Smothers was the sole caretaker of the child and began posting about his frustration on social media shortly after.
"Omar was being the biggest cry baby right now, and I’m tired," Smothers wrote.
Then, at 10.33 am, he said, "Jr done went back to sleep — guess I’ll gas up," referring to smoking marijuana.
But just hours later, others present at the residence "awoke to the baby screaming" and the accused came in and "advised to call 911."
According to the report, the side of Omar's head was beginning to swell as he lay unresponsive at the time.
Authorities responded to the home at around 11 am and rushed Omar to Navicent Health's pediatric ICU.
Upon arrival, doctors determined the infant had sustained bilateral fractures in his skull and said the injuries did not appear to be accidental.
Omar was pronounced brain dead on June 13, and was subsequently taken off life support.
An investigation into the death led by the Houston County Sheriff's Office found that Smothers was the only person looking after Omar at the time the injuries were inflicted.
Furthermore, several witnesses claimed nothing was wrong with the child before he was left alone with Smothers that fateful morning.
That said, the arrest warrant states Smothers has a bad temper.
It was later reported that witnesses admitted to seeing or hearing Smothers "strike the child and cuss at the child."
Two days after Omar's passing, Ortiz Smothers Sr. wrote a Facebook mourning his death.
"I have been pretending this was a dream but I keep waking to the same results," he wrote. "Omar Cortez Smothers, u have gained your wings way too early. Love u and sorry we didn't get to do grandad and grandson stuff. R.I.P."