Dad sentenced for assaulting and strangling 3-month-old daughter (Bay City, Michigan)

Dad is identified as GARRETT D. GWIZDALA.

http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2015/01/bay_city_dad_gets_15-30_years.html

Bay City dad gets 15-30 years for abusing infant daughter

By Cole Waterman on January 28, 2015 at 10:03 AM, updated January 28, 2015 at 10:05 AM

BAY CITY, MI — A 25-year-old Bay City father who abused his infant daughter is heading to prison for up to the next three decades.

Bay County Circuit Judge Harry P. Gill on Monday, Jan. 26, sentenced Garrett D. Gwizdala to concurrent prison terms of 10 to 15 years and 15 to 30 years' imprisonment. The judge gave him credit for 214 days already served.

Gwizdala in November pleaded no contest to single counts of first-degree child abuse and assault by strangulation. The former is a life offense, while the latter is a 10-year felony.

In exchange for his pleas, the prosecution dismissed one count of second-degree child abuse.

Gwizdala's charges stem from an incident that occurred at his residence in the 3400 block of North Euclid Avenue the afternoon of Wednesday, June 25. According to police, Gwizdala called 911 at 5:32 p.m., requesting medical attention for his 3-month-old daughter, who was not breathing.

A Bay County Sheriff's deputy also responded to the house. Gwizdala initially said he was lying on a couch with the baby on his chest, and that the child fell off and landed face-down on the floor, Undersheriff Troy Cunningham previously said.

"He later made admissions to what really happened, and we learned his original story was completely false," Cunningham said, adding the child's mother was not home at the time of the alleged incident.

Cunningham said Gwizdala told detectives he knowingly hurt the child. Gwizdala told detectives he obstructed the child's breathing and was upset because she wouldn't stop crying, Cunningham said.

The baby was taken via ambulance to McLaren Bay Region hospital and later transferred to Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw for further treatment. Cunningham said the baby also had injuries that indicated prior abuse.