Traveon Hughes (left inset) in a Cuyahoga County Jail mug shot, (right) Hughes in court on May 31, 2024, for sentencing (WKYC/screengrab)
Just two days after a peer-led jury found him guilty of killing his 4-month-old son by asphyxia with a baby wipe, a 20-year-old father from Ohio was sentenced on Friday to life in prison with the possibility of release after 15 years.
The case against Traveon Hughes Sr. started in earnest on June 29, 2022, the day he was arrested in Cuyahoga County for his son Traveon Hughes, Jr.’s death at their Westlake home four days earlier, according to court records obtained by Law&Crime.
When the 4-month-old prematurely born baby stopped breathing on June 25, 2022, the responding authorities saw that a baby wipe was lodged in the baby’s throat.
Since the victim was too young to have swallowed the baby wipe on his own, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley’s office prosecutors contended that this was a “intentional” murder. However, defense attorney W. Scott Ramsey insisted that Hughes “did not recklessly or purposefully shove a baby wipe down his baby’s throat,” adamantly defending his client’s innocence and preparing for an appeal, Cleveland.com reported.
Prosecutors outlined the events leading up to the case as follows: “On June 25, 2022, Traveon Hughes was watching his 4-month-old son (born 12 weeks prematurely) alone in their residence near West 81st Street and Madison Avenue in Cleveland.” Hughes claimed that instead of using a bib, he cleaned the 4-month-old’s chest with a baby wipe. After that, he disappeared into another room, leaving the infant alone for a little while. He saw the 4-month-old was choking and phoned the authorities after going back to check on him.
In July 2022, An Indictment Was Issued. See Below.
Ultimately, the jury was convinced that Hughes was responsible for the charges of involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment, and murder.
In a statement following the verdict, O’Malley stated, “The State of Ohio believes that baby Traveon Hughes’s death was an intentional homicide.” “A jury made up of county residents concurred.”
When Hughes showed up in court on Friday, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge William McGinty sealed his fate while he watched while wearing jailhouse orange.
“The jury found you guilty of murder,”
the judge said, sentencing Hughes to a state penitentiary for 15 years to life.
“You know, Traveon, there’s nothing else that I can say to you, okay?” the judge said. “Everything is statutory right here, we have a sentence that’s been imposed, you’ll have a right to appeal.”
The judge declared that Hughes would be going to prison in the interim.
Watch the moment of sentencing below:
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