Dad convicted of 2nd-degree murder in death of 3-month-old son (Jacksonville, Florida)

Dad MARSHALL DALE COLE IV has been found guilty of 2nd-degree murder in the death of his 3-month-old son.

http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-02-11/story/jacksonville-man-convicted-murder-infant-sons-death

Jacksonville man convicted of murder in infant son's death
Posted: February 11, 2011 - 10:13am

By David Hunt

A Jacksonville man was convicted of killing his infant son after a jury trial that wrapped up Thursday evening.

Marshall Dale Cole IV, 43, was found guilty of second-degree murder after a three-man, three-woman jury deliberated for about an hour and 15 minutes.

Cole took the stand in his own defense and blamed the death of 3-month-old Marcus Cole on his former wife. However, prosecutors countered that Cole had been lying about the case since the baby was first rushed to the hospital.

“I could have done better as a father. I could have done better as a parent,” Cole told the jury. “But I know I did not shake my son whatsoever.”

Assistant State Attorney Alan Mizrahi said Cole shook the baby so hard its spine hemorrhaged and its brain swelled against the skull until it lost the ability to tell the lungs to breathe.

Authorities were called to Cole’s Volley Drive home March 22, 2009. The baby died a few days later.

Both parents told police the boy had been spitting up but nothing else was noticeably wrong before Cole put him to bed. He was alone in the bedroom with the child for at least 30 minutes, both parents told police in the arrest report. Cole said he heard a noise and noticed Marcus wasn’t breathing.

Cole faces up to life in prison when Circuit Judge Mark Hulsey sentences him.

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-02-11/story/jacksonville-man-convicted-murder-infant-sons-death#ixzz1Dg2GyDON