Man gets 15-30 years for infant son’s death

An article by Angela Niemi    No Comments

A Commerce Township man will spend at least 15 years in prison after being sentenced yesterday, Tuesday, Feb. 7, for the death of his 4-month-old son.

Richard Gillis, III, 23, the baby’s biological father, entered a “no contest” plea to second-degree murder/homicide and second-degree child abuse charges stemming from the June 2011 death of his infant son.

Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Shalina Kumar sentenced Gillis to serve 15 to 30 years in prison for the infant’s death, along with 1 to 4 years for child abuse charges, to be served concurrently.

Gillis will receive credit for 234 days already served in jail.

Last summer, the Commerce Township Fire Department was dispatched to the 2000 block of Evergreen to attend to a baby who was not breathing. The baby was then taken to DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in Commerce before being transported to the University of Michigan’s Mott Children’s Hospital, where he reportedly was found to have obvious signs of abuse, including bruising and scratches, according to an Oakland County Sheriff’s Department press release.

Further medical examination allegedly showed signs of significant abuse, including internal cranial bleeding, multiple skull fractures, and multiple rib fractures, among other injuries.

The baby was placed on life support at Mott Children’s Hospital before he was taken off support on June 14.

The autopsy performed by the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner’s Office on June 15 cited the infant’s cause of death as craniocerebral trauma/homicide.

Gillis has claimed the infant’s head was inadvertently injured while Gillis was playing with him, tossing him into the air and catching him.