FREEBORN COUNTY, Minn. — An Albert Lea man has been sentenced for killing a 2-year-old and hurting a baby last summer.
Austin Navarro was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and third-degree assault. According to a press release from the office of Attorney General Keith Ellison, the presumptive sentence on the murder charge was 240 months, but the court imposed a 300-month sentence "based on aggravating factors that included Navarro’s position of authority over the child, the victim’s particularly vulnerable age, and Navarro’s particular cruelty in inflicting the injuries."
According to charging documents, Navarro was watching his ex-girlfriend's children when she received a message from Navarro saying the two-year-old fell down the stairs and was seriously hurt. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office determined that the cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries and ruled the manner of death a homicide. The 12-week-old survived but officials said he sustained several injuries to his head and body, including fractured ribs.
At the plea hearing, Navarro admitted he punched and kicked both the 2-year-old and 12-month-old multiple times, the Attorney General's Office said.
