Monday, Dec. 23, 2013 | 4:38 p.m.
RENO — A Reno man convicted of killing his girlfriend's young son has been sentenced to life in prison with possible parole after 20 years.
Twenty-three year old Donald Jackson was convicted of first-degree murder Dec. 5. He was sentenced Monday.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports Washoe District Judge Scott Freeman also imposed a consecutive five-year sentence for child abuse.
A prosecutor says an autopsy showed the 18-month-old boy had a "pulverized" liver and that Jackson had beaten the boy for months on days the child's mother worked.
Defense lawyers argued Jackson found the boy unconscious on Aug. 8, 2012 before seeking help from other residents in their Reno apartment building. They said the boy suffered from complications of kidney disease and there were no witnesses or evidence to find Jackson guilty.
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