Gresham man gets 18 years in prison for causing death of baby
PORTLAND, Ore. - A Gresham man was sentenced to 18 years in prison Monday for causing the death of a baby girl.
Jeffrey Locker, 22, agreed to the sentence as part of a plea agreement. Prosecutors said 1-year-old Brooklyn Saechao died from a severe head injury in August 2011.
Locker called 911 on Tuesday, Aug. 2 from the Gresham home where he lived with his girlfriend and her child. He said he was taking care of the baby and she fell, hitting her head on something. But investigators said the child's injuries didn't match his story.
Saechao died that Thursday and the next day Locker was picked up driving toward the Washington border. Police got a tip that he had left the Portland area.
Investigators said Locker didn't take responsibility at first. But during his sentencing, Locker's attorneys told the court that he accepts responsibility in the death of Saechao.
While Locker didn't give a statement at his sentencing, his lawyer, Martha Spinhirne, told the judge that Locker wanted to avoid a trial to spare the family more pain.
The family was in the courtroom, including Saechao’s mother who is pregnant again. Her friend spoke on her behalf after the sentencing outside the courtroom.
"No matter how much time a person's given it will never give her back the opportunity to see her child's first kiss, her first love," said Michelle Ellam. "Her family being able to watch her grow up and get married – that's never gonna give back so it doesn't matter how much time he gets."
You don't know his Mother! She should be in an institution for the mentally insane, but she's not! You have no idea what this young man endured....no excuse for what he did....just wanted you to know.
I'm sorry, but watch her get married.. really.. Read the story, usually the apple doesn't fall far from the tree..
A sad story, but full of tax payer supported money I am sure..
I dont agree at all that any of this is the mother's fault. She knew this man, she had never had any
reason to not trust him. She loved him. In her heart she believed he was a decent man. Even living
with your spouse/or significant other, you don't always know a person as well as you think you do.
Valid point. Hindsight is always 20/20, and without knowing all the facts of what happened, it all could have been an accident. At least this young man is fessing up to his responsibility, and taking his punishment like a man.
Why must people continue to breed like rabbits on meth?
 @Mark Sparkle From everything I have read about this case there was NO mention of meth. I agree with pdxd that this could have been an accident and he's facing his punishment like a man. Just because the mother is pregnant again DOES NOT make her a bad person as you are implying. Â
@Mark Sparkle yes, take your parents for example........does that make you feel good? Talk about rude!Â
 @QuandoQuandoQuando  " Hopefully she chose better this time around"
   I agree with you, considering she's pregnant again.
18 years? That's it? Pathetic. Should have been a life sentence.
RIP little baby Brooklyn! Too bad your mother didn't do a better job picking a boyfriend/babysitter in the first place. Hopefully she chose better this time around. BTW, most parents don't see their child's first kiss.Â
@QuandoQuandoQuando - Real nice; blame the child's mother for this tragedy. Take a look at the guy; he looks decent, she knew him and had trust in him or she wouldn't have left her baby with him. I'm sure she regrets it every day and she doesn't need insensitive dolts twisting the knife in her heart.Â
The reason he "looks decent", is because that's probably something the defense attorney instructed him to do in the first place. People that look decent sometimes are decent. Somethings they aren't. Can't be judging a book by it's cover.
 @Twinksmom  @pdxd they lived together all of a month before this happened. And Jeff lived with her while he was still engaged to someone else. While I don't think we should all blame the mom for Jeff's actions, she wasn't exactly careful in choosing who to leave her baby with.
@pdxd you are right about not judging a book by its cover but since they lived together one can assume there was more to her decision to be with this person than that. As for the attorneys grooming him for court - maybe/maybe not.
@Twinksmom well it is partially her fault, those signs are not that hard to see, she was being selfish to her wants, some people just need to take responsibility for there own actions
@franksbeans, it isn't partially her faut at all. The victim blaming thing has got to stop; it is a poor defense mechanism. I truly believe that those that blame the victim "need" to believe what they believe in order to cope with all of the bad that goes on in the world. Unfortunately, victim blaming just adds to the bad.
@franksbeans
Actually itâs not her fault at all. She had nothing to do with shaking the baby to death. Itâs wrong to put the blame on anyone else except the POS that did it.
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