The murder charge carries a mandatory 15 years to life in prison. Christon is set to be sentenced this afternoon in Judge Michael Buckwalter’s courtroom at the Greene County Common Pleas Court in Xenia.
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The state’s case relied largely on testimony from police and Dr. Susan Brown of the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
Investigators testified that Christon called 911 to report his baby was not breathing around 3:17 a.m. on March 8, 2018. CPR was administered as the emergency dispatcher gave instructions over the phone before the first police officer arrived and took over the life-saving efforts until emergency medical personnel arrived.
The autopsy report revealed the baby suffered bruises to his head, right cheek, lower lip, right forearm and on the right side of his back, according to the statement of facts. Brown noted in the report there was internal bleeding around the brain and ruled the baby died from blunt force injuries to the head.
Assistant Greene County Prosecutor David Hayes said Brown’s testimony, combined with statements the defendant made to police during interviews, were “critical in establishing the fact that he was the one responsible for killing this child.”
“Kameron was only 6 weeks old. His life was literally snatched away from him. And, of course, the great tragedy is that it was snatched by one of the persons who gave him life. His own father,” Hayes said. “It goes without saying that babies are people too and they deserve justice.”
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Christon’s attorney Griff Nowicki said he plans to appeal the case. He said while it wasn’t the verdict he wanted, the jury “listened intently” and took time to consider all the evidence.
“My client and I appreciated the fact that they took everything into consideration and actually thought through this instead of rushing to judgment,” Nowicki said. “In a case like this, you’re always worried that somebody’s going to get pre-judged based on the age of the victim.”
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