Home
SJ man gets maximum sentence in infant’s death
By Jan Hefler
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
May 14, 2008
A 25-year-old Gloucester County man was sentenced today to 30 years in state prison in the 2006 death of his 3-month-old son.
William J. Duncan 2d, of Franklinville, received the maximum sentence for a charge of aggravated manslaughter. He must serve 85 percent of his time before becoming eligible for parole, a spokesman for the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office said.
Duncan 3d said that he was lying on the floor with the infant, William Duncan 3d, on his chest on May 23, 2006. He pushed the baby, causing the child to hit his head on an aquarium stand. The infant died of blunt force trauma, according to an autopsy.
The mother, Angelina Vanderpoel, then 17, and relatives were sleeping in their mobile home on Buttercup Lane at the time of the incident, police said. Duncan, who also lived there, failed to seek immediate medical attention and put the baby in his cradle. When he later found the baby to be unresponsive, he notified neighbors who called 911.
Superior Court Judge Walter L. Marshall Jr. said that Duncan failed to get medical help "even after he wiped blood from the child's ear."
Marshall sentenced Duncan and credited him with the 721 days he has been in the Gloucester County Jail. The judge noted that Duncan had an extensive record, including burglaries, resisting arrest and obstruction of justice.
Contact staff writer Jan Hefler at 856-779-3224 or jhefler@phillynews.com .
Copyright 2008
Powered By Zebra Mobile