A 16-year-old defendant who admitted to killing a nearly two-year-old toddler last March has been convicted by a jury of second-degree murder.Dylan Schumaker, 16, was found guilty in State Supreme Court in the beating death of 23-month-old Austin Smith in March.
The attorney for the prosecution told the jury that Schumaker should be convicted on a second-degree murder charge with intent to kill, which carries a maximum 25 years-to-life in prison sentence. However, a defense attorney had recommended conviction on a second-degree manslaughter, charge, which could have resulted in up to 15 years behind bars.
Schumaker was babysitting the boy and his 3-month-old brother while his girlfriend, the boys' mother, was at work. Prosecutors say he muffled the boy's face with a pillow before striking it three times to quiet him down during a diaper change. The boy later died after being found unresponsive.
