Wisconsin Rapids man gets 15 years for killing toddler over spilled milk from sippy cup

Melissa Siegler | Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune

WISCONSIN RAPIDS - A Wisconsin Rapids man was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison for killing his 15-month-old son for spilling a cup of milk.

James L. Georgeson, 33, was found guilty of second-degree reckless homicide in October after pleading no contest. The charge was reduced from first-degree reckless homicide as part of plea deal. He will serve 15 years of initial confinement in the Wisconsin State Prison system, followed by 10 years of extended supervision.

The child's grandmother spoke on behalf of her daughter, the boy's mother, at the sentencing at the Wood County Court House in Wisconsin Rapids. She shared that the boy had loved cars and music and that his family loves and misses him. He did not deserve to have his life cut short, she said.

James Georgeson sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing son James Georgeson sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing son.

"It hurts me every day," she read from her statement. "He's in a better place now where he can't get hurt anymore. He has everything he needs and all the music that he wants."

Authorities responded to a 911 call of the unconscious toddler in February 2017. When they arrived, the boy had bruising on and around his eye and forehead.

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After reportedly telling police several versions of the story, Georgeson finally confessed to becoming angry when the child threw a sippy cup full of milk and spilled it. He said he picked up the 15-month-old and shook him before placing him on the bed and leaving the room. He later called 911 when he found the child blue and gasping for air.

Georgeson's attorney said that he had also admitted to drinking heavily that day.

Georgeson had reportedly picked up the young boy from his mother's custody the day of the incident. At first he told investigators that he put the boy down for a nap and later found him blue and gasping for air.

Wood County District Attorney Craig Lambert said during the sentencing that Georgeson had also claimed to have been playing with the boy by throwing him on the couch, which, Georgeson said, could explain the boy's condition.

Doctors at Marshfield Medical Center said there were multiple bruises on the child's face and bleeding in his brain. An autopsy showed the boy died from multiple blunt-force injuries to his head.

Georgeson did not speak publicly at the sentencing other than to say he deserved whatever sentence Wood County Circuit Judge Todd Wolf decided on.