CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. — A judge sentenced a man to 30 years of prison time Tuesday in Catawba County for the 2014 beating death of a 7-month-old baby.
Tyler Linebarger pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and child abuse in the December 2014 death of Jamar Hickman.
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Linebarger’s attorney said he was babysitting the baby at the time and had smoked a synthetic drug called Spice.
Prosecutors said he killed the 7-month-old because he hated the baby’s biological father and the child looked like him.
"He hated baby Jamar's biological father and the relationship with Amber (the baby's mother) was faltering," Assistant District Atttorney Alison Martin said.
Martin said that Linebarger punched the baby with such force, the injuries were similar those suffered in a car crash. She said the abuse happened over a five-week period.
Linebarger's family was in the courtroom, fighting back tears during the plea deal. Afterward, they told Channel 9 what happened in 2014 does not reflect the Tyler Linebarger they know.
"He was a good person. That was my first cousin. I've known him all my life. He would never harm a child," one family member told Channel 9.
But the baby's father and his grandmother said they don't believe the punishment Linebarger received is enough.
"What he did to my grandson should be done to him so he could get the same feeling," Jamar's grandmother Clarissa Hickman said.
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