A Springville teenager convicted of second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend's toddler son last year was given the maximum penalty at his sentencing Friday morning.Dylan Schumaker, 17, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the death of 23-month-old Austin Smith while babysitting the boy and his infant brother last March 19 while their mother, his girlfriend, was at work. Schumaker was convicted in a jury trial last month.
Smith was beaten on the head several times by Schumaker, according to prosecutors. They say he muffled the boy's face with a pillow before striking him three times, trying to get him to stop crying.
According to a Buffalo News report, State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller cited 13 letters from witnesses and family members and called Schumaker "a manipulator and deceiver" before giving him the maximum sentence.
