LEBANON, Pa. (AP) - A south-central Pennsylvania man who pleaded no-contest to first-degree murder in the death of his 6-month old daughter faces a mandatory sentence of life without parole.
Wednesday's plea by Kevin Mitchell Jr. spares him the possibility of the death penalty, which Lebanon County District Attorney David Arnold had been seeking.
Mitchell also pleaded no contest to aggravated assault, simple assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
Defense lawyer Brian Deiderick says it wasn't an easy decision to plead no contest but it was ultimately up to his client.
Mitchell and Miriam Nebot, the child's mother, lived together in a Lebanon apartment when they took 6-month-old Zariyah Mitchell to a hospital May 23. Efforts to revive her were unsuccessful. Prosectuors plan to charge Nebot as well but are not seeking the death penalty for her.
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Information from: Lebanon Daily News, http://www.ldnews.com
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
