A Florida man suffocated his young, crying son so he could play video games on his Xbox and watch TV, sheriff’s deputies said Friday.
Cody Wygant, 24, is charged with third-degree murder and child neglect. He was being held Friday without bail at the Citrus County Jail.
Sixteen-month-old Daymeon Wygant wasn’t breathing when emergency crews arrived at the home Thursday morning. The child was pronounced dead at a hospital, investigators said.
Based upon the information in the linked article, it seems that Wygant didn’t kill the child on purpose, which explains the severity of the charges. I have little doubt death was not the intended outcome — but it happened at Wygant’s hands, and thus he is being punished.
I don’t think anyone would deny Wygant the right to be frustrated if his child was bothering him with crying, etc. We’ve all hear a toddler complain, and found it less than pleasant. But this kind of reaction shows a disproportionate reaction and horrible results, and thus punishment is rightly being rendered.