Father pleads guilty in death of infant

Angela Soo

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2001 | 8:50 a.m.

A Las Vegas man charged with murder in the death of his 3-week-old son entered a guilty plea Tuesday.

Joaquin Perry-Edwards pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder and one count of child abuse and neglect. He was originally charged with murder by child abuse in the death of his son, Elijah.

District Court Judge Donald Mosley is scheduled to sentence Perry-Edwards Jan. 10.

Perry-Edwards faces a 10- to 25-year or 10-year to life sentence in connection with the murder charge and a three- to 10-year sentence on child abuse and neglect. The sentences will be served consecutively, making him eligible for parole after 13 years, Deputy Public Defender Scott Coffee said.

Perry-Edwards, 38, was charged with killing his son in January after striking the boy twice in the chest, causing the baby's heart to rupture.

According to prior court proceedings, Perry-Edwards said he first struck his son in the chest because he thought the baby was choking. The second time was out of frustration, because the baby didn't stop crying and Perry-Edwards was trying to make dinner.

A forensic pathologist testified in March that Elijah probably died within minutes, if not immediately.

Perry-Edwards found the baby dead the morning after he struck him and ran to a neighbor's home in an East Twain Avenue apartment complex. He told the neighbor that Elijah was dead, and the neighbor called 911.

Perry-Edwards' wife of 12 years and Elijah's mother, Teresa Perry-Edwards, was out of town when the death occurred.