(WWJ) — A Macomb County man will spend decades in prison for the starving death of his 2-year-old son.
After pleading no contest in October, 26-year-old Jonathon Cheek of Clinton Township was sentenced Wednesday to 24-to-50 years in prison on the charge of second-degree murder, according to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office.
He was also sentenced to 7-to-10 years in prison for the charge of second-degree child abuse.
On March 16, 2023, the toddler’s mother, Sierra Zaitona, found the boy dead in his crib at their Clinton Twp. home. The medical examiner determined the cause of death was “fatal starvation.”
The prosecutor’s office previously said Cheek was visiting his mother when the discovery was made, but later returned home.
Prosecutor Pete Lucido called it “a heartbreaking and profoundly sad case.”
“A two-year-old child, full of potential and deserving of love and care, was failed in the most devastating way. No sentence can bring back this innocent life, but hopefully the family can begin to heal,” Lucido said, per a press release.
During the parents’ arraignment in 2023, prosecuting attorney Molly Zappitell told the judge the child had been healthy in foster care, but “met its demise” once he was returned to the care of his biological parents.
Zaitona is set to stand trial on the same charges in April 2025, according to The Detroit News.
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