15 years to life: Lake County man sentenced for murder of 1-month-old son

PAINESVILLE, Ohio (WOIO) - The man who was found guilty of killing his infant son faced a judge for sentencing on Thursday morning.

William Beasley was previously convicted of murder, involuntary manslaughter, and two counts of endangering children.

During Thursday’s hearing, Beasley was sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole after 15 years.

Beasley, through his attorney’s maintained his innocence and then doubled down as a he read a statement before Judge John O’Donnell handed down the sentence.

“What I was not preparing for was the day, instead of holding Zach, I would be wishing to hold him again, a day I hope no parent never needs to experience,” he said.

Doctor’s testified during the trial that Zach had been beaten, brutally, on at least 5 separate occasions, and according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner the baby died of trauma to the head.

Zachary’s mom Katelyn remains devastated.

“Instead of a rowdy health beautiful baby boy, he is ashes in a box, inside another box in the shape of a superman logo,” she said.

She also made it very clear that she had no doubt that Beasley was a murderer.

“You William Lee Beasley murdered Zachary William Beasley,” she said trembling, “You murdered your son.”

Willoughby firefighters responded to the family’s apartment in May 2020 for reports of a 3-week-old baby that was having trouble breathing.

Paramedics took the infant to Hillcrest Hospital, and eventually the Cleveland Clinic’s main campus before he eventually died from his injuries.

Beasley was previously offered a plea deal on two separate occasions, but his lawyers rejected both offers, bringing the case to a jury trial.

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