The second-degree murder trial of Tyler Brian Hogan was halted Monday after the accused entered a guilty plea to the lesser charge of criminal negligence causing death ahead of jury selection.
The 42-year-old Lethbridge man admitted to his role in the April 2016 death of nine-month-old Austin Wright, the son of Hogan’s girlfriend Jasmine Wright.
According to Hogan, he had been babysitting Austin when he threw the infant from a bed to a pile of blankets and pillows on the floor. Hogan says he was trying to cheer up the young boy following a night where the child had been up vomiting and crying . Austin collided with an open drawer of a dresser and suffered injuries that proved fatal. Hogan says he did not intend to hurt the child.
Hogan notified Jasmine Wright of the incident and she called 911. When EMS crews arrived, the child was not breathing and had no pulse. The young boy was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The sentencing of Hogan is scheduled for December 17.
With files from CTV’s Kaella Carr
