Alabama man admits he killed 19-month-old relative, gets 20 years in prison

Published 12:44 pm Tuesday, March 10, 2020

An Alabama man convicted of killing a 19-month-old relative was sentenced to 20 years in prison Monday, news outlets reported.

Noe Mateo, 26, pleaded guilty to a lesser felony murder charge in DeKalb County Circuit Court, according to Al.com. He was initially indicted on a capital murder charge in August 2018 and later captured in Georgia.

Prosecutors alleged Mateo abused the child, Juan Francisco-Juan, before the boy died from blunt force trauma in 2017, according to Bob Johnston, chief deputy district attorney for Alabama’s Ninth Judicial Circuit.

Mateo was living with the toddler’s family at their Crossville home and often babysat the boy while the child’s mother was working, prosecutors alleged. Authorities did not release additional details on the case.

Mateo also pleaded guilty to intimidating witnesses involved in the investigation and was sentenced to a concurrent term of three years on the charge, court records show.