A Hammond man got 10 years Thursday after his girlfriend’s then 2-year-old son was left with permanent brain damage while in his care.
Marc A. Burnett, 21, signed a plea agreement on Sept. 11 to neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 3 felony.
He faced 3-16 years.
Court documents indicate Burnett was the only one watching the boy and that he failed to do enough to help him.
Joe Coyle, the boy’s uncle, read a letter from the grandfather saying the child was “unrecognizable” in the hospital.
“You destroyed (his) life forever,” he read.
The child’s father Tyler Coyle said the boy underwent three life-saving brain surgeries, countless hours of therapy, needed round-the-clock care, needing a wheelchair or walkers. His son “can’t really talk” and was back in diapers after the brain injury.
He faced another brain surgery down the line.
He was in the intensive care unit for about a month fighting for his life. The medical team and his son’s resilience pulled him through, he said.
The family asked for the maximum sentence. The father said he was unable to forgive.
At the hospital, doctors said his son had a traumatic brain injury and what happened wasn’t an accident, he said.
When questioned, Coyle added the boy was unable to walk and he couldn’t feel his right leg.
Earlier, Burnett’s relative spoke well of him. She called what happened to the boy an “accident.”
Defense lawyer Andrea Bonds said Burnett was devastated by what happened.
No one truly knew what happened, she said. One theory was the boy fell and hit his head while playing. The other is her client called the boy’s mom at work, but they waited too long to get help.
Burnett had no criminal record, no allegations he hurt the boy before, she said.
She asked for him to avoid prison.
Deputy Prosecutor Jacquelyn Altpeter argued the boy was left in a coma with “significant” injuries for the rest of his life.
“They pray for a miracle,” she said of his family. “His future is unknown.”
Burnett apologized and said it was a “terrible accident.”
Judge Salvador Vazquez said prison was appropriate.
Staff at the NW Indiana ER & Hospital, 7904 Cabela Drive in Hammond, called police around 9 p.m. on March 8, 2023, after the child was brought in with “suspicious” injuries. The boy was quickly airlifted to a Chicago pediatric hospital.
Doctors there said the initial care the Northwest Indiana site provided likely saved the boy’s life.
The mother said she was at work at a restaurant in Illinois and let Burnett watch the boy.
Doctors removed a part of the child’s skull to relieve pressure on his brain.
The boy’s father said he spent the previous weekend with the grandfather and didn’t show any injuries.
By March 17, 2023, he was “unstable” and in “extremely critical condition,” University of Chicago Dr. Veena Ramaiah reported. His brain pressure was unstable, despite doctors’ best efforts.
He had “neurologically devastating injuries,” she said.
The results of an eye exam — typically used to detect signs of shaken baby syndrome — were inconclusive, she said.
However, doctors wouldn’t rule out if he was shaken. His injuries would have been known, with obvious signs, like vomiting, Ramaiah told police.
mcolias@post-trib.com