Dad pleads guilty to felony child abuse in death of 3-month-old daughter (San Diego, California)

Why killing your infant daughter is only considered felony child abuse I can't explain. But that's all that dad STEVEN DAVINGER has pleaded guilty to.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/oct/26/father-pleads-guilty-child-abuse-baby-death/

Dad pleads guilty in death of 3-month-old
Written by Dana Littlefield

4:50 p.m., Oct. 26, 2011

SAN DIEGO — A Navy man accused in the death of his 3-month-old daughter two years ago pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of felony child abuse.

Steven Davinger, 29, admitted that he “willfully inflicted unjustifiable pain” on his daughter Aziya between September and October 2009. The child suffered broken ribs on two separate occasions, as well as a broken arm and a broken leg.

Aziya died Oct. 13, 2009, of staph and bone infections due to her injuries, police said. An autopsy was conducted and her death was ruled a homicide.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Robert O’Neill scheduled a sentencing hearing for Jan. 17, when Davinger is expected to be sentenced to 21 years in prison, of which he would have to serve 85 percent.

Davinger is one of three people charged in Aziya’s death. Her mother, Sara Davinger, 23, and a daytime babysitter, Thomas Stevenson, 28, have each pleaded guilty to one count of felony child abuse.

Outside the courtroom Wednesday, Deputy District Attorney Per Hellstrom declined to explain how authorities believe the child’s injuries were inflicted, noting that the two codefendants in the case have not yet been sentenced.

The Medical Examiner’s Office said at the time that Aziya’s injuries were caused by blunt-force trauma inflicted over time.

Lt. Kevin Rooney, of the San Diego Police Department’s homicide division, said in March that the Davingers were identified as “suspects responsible for acts and omissions that led to their daughter’s death.”

The Davingers, both of whom were enlisted in the Navy, were arrested March 10 at the 32nd Street Naval Station. A Navy spokesman said at the time of Steven Davinger's arrest that he was a Petty Officer 3rd Class.

The couple lived in a Serra Mesa apartment with three other people, including the babysitter and another couple.