LOS ANGELES—A Los Angeles man pleaded no contest on Sept 12 to second-degree murder for the 2019 beating death of his 4-year-old son.
Hirwin Calderon-Ordonez, 29, is expected to be sentenced to 15 years to life in prison when he returns to court on Oct. 16, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
He was originally charged with one felony count each of murder and assault on a child causing death.
Mr. Calderon-Ordonez’s son, Justin Sontay-Oxlaj, died after being taken to a hospital in June 2019 from his family’s residence in the 4600 block of Honduras Street in the southeast Los Angeles area, according to the coroner’s office and the Los Angeles Police Department.
The coroner completed an autopsy the following day and ruled the death a homicide by blunt force trauma, Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami said during an earlier court hearing.
Mr. Hatami said the child’s injuries amounted to “massive blunt force trauma.”
Police had quickly classified the death as suspicious. A police detective told reporters at the scene that the boy’s body showed evidence of physical trauma. Mr. Calderon-Ordonez was arrested later that day.
According to media reports, it was the father who called 911. The child’s mother was not home at the time. The boy was not breathing when paramedics arrived.
