Dayton man pleads guilty to murder for 2-month-old son’s death in 2022

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Credit: Cornelius Frolik

Credit: Cornelius Frolik

A man pleaded guilty to murder and other charges the day his trial was to start for the death of his 2-month-old son two years ago in Dayton.

James Kyle Gilmore, 33, pleaded guilty Monday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to one count of murder, one count of attempt to commit tampering with evidence and two counts of endangering children.

Gilmore’s son, Kyle K. Gilmore, died July 29, 2022, at Dayton Children’s Hospital. His cause of death was blunt force injuries of the head and asphyxia and was ruled a homicide, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.

James Gilmore

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Dayton police and medics responded the afternoon of July 21 to an apartment in the 3300 block of White Oak Drive after a man, later identified as Gilmore, called 911 to report a baby was not breathing.

He told a dispatcher he was home alone with his children and did not know how long the baby had not been breathing. When the dispatcher asked how long ago he noticed the boy breathing, he said, “it was 40 minutes ago,” according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch Center records.

He also said the baby had no medical history but that his twin sister spent time at a neonatal intensive care unit.

Medics arrived at the apartment and began life-saving measures. They took the baby to the hospital, where staff observed injuries consistent with abuse, according to an affidavit filed in Dayton Municipal Court.

Gilmore, the only adult caring for the infant when he became unresponsive, told police he did not know what caused the baby to become unresponsive.

However, police found video from July 21 that showed Gilmore “taking actions to prevent [the infant] from breathing, leading to his eventual unresponsiveness,” the affidavit stated.

Gilmore is held on $1 million bond awaiting his Sept. 10 sentencing hearing.

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