A mother left a judge in stunned silence after defending the man convicted of murdering her 13-week-old son.
Traveon Hughes Sr, 20, pleaded not guilty throughout the trial for the death of his son Traveon Jr, who died from asphyxiation on a baby wipe in June 2022.
After a jury convicted him this week of intentionally and fatally shoving the baby wipe down the baby’s throat, the baby’s mother, Acieiona McEwan, took the stand at Hughes’ sentencing to condemn the court’s decision.
“You are all making a mistake,” he said. “You all know what you did to my son, and you’re not going to get away with it.”
Traveon Hughes Sr, 20, was sentenced this week to life in prison with 15 years’ probation after a jury found him guilty of murdering his son by stuffing a washcloth down his throat.
Acieiona McEwan surprised the court at sentencing, telling the judge they were “making a mistake” and “they’re not going to get away with it.”
McEwan warned the court that “God has the final say” and has reportedly argued that medical professionals are to blame for her son’s death, as she was not the only one in Hughes’ family to claim her innocence. .
The convicted killer’s mother, Sandra Norwood, told the court: “Ohio is going to get tired of me, because justice will prevail.”
On Friday, Hughes was found guilty of murder, manslaughter and child endangerment, when prosecutors argued he shoved the baby wipe down his son’s throat to stop him from crying.
The tragedy unfolded on June 25, 2022, two days after Hughes and McEwan moved from Chicago to Cleveland when they were both 18 years old.
Traveon Jr. was just 13 weeks old when he died of asphyxiation, with Hughes at home with his brother and his girlfriend with the baby while McEwan was at work.
During the trial, Hughes testified in his own defense to claim that his son accidentally choked on the wipe, it reports. Cleveland.com.
She claimed she replaced a bib on her son’s chest with the wipe after he spilled milk on it, but left the room briefly to tend to wounds he suffered in a shooting in Chicago in December 2021, where he was shot 19 times. in his legs and his body.
When she returned, Hughes said she found her son choking on the wipe and that the baby was still alive when paramedics arrived.
Hughes claimed his son Traveon Jr (pictured) accidentally choked, but prosecutors argued the baby was too young to be able to ball up a washcloth and put it in his mouth.
Hughes was found guilty of murder, manslaughter and child endangerment.
The baby, who was born 13 weeks early and was the size of a newborn, was later pronounced dead at the hospital, where doctors reportedly found the wipe still lodged in his throat.
Hughes maintained his innocence throughout the trial, and his attorney said in his sentencing that they “disagree” with the jury’s decision, adding, “You did not recklessly or intentionally shove a baby wipe down your baby’s throat.”
Prosecutors responded that Traveon Jr. was too small to put the wipe in his mouth and was not developed enough to even roll it into a ball.
Images of his small hands were shown to the court, as Cuyahoga County Assistant Prosecutor Kerry Sowul argued that he was too weak to have caused his own death.
“These precious little hands didn’t have the ability to take that wipe and put it in their mouth, let alone ball it up and push it that far in,” she said.
In his sentencing, the judge imposed the maximum sentence requested by prosecutors: life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
After the hearing, McEwan and Norwood said they blame the hospital’s doctors for mishandling the baby’s treatment.
They claimed they had been prevented from collecting the baby’s remains, and McEwan said she learned earlier this year that her son was cremated and still doesn’t know where his ashes are.
Hughes maintained his innocence throughout the trial, and his partner and mother criticized prosecutors for their role in the trial at his sentencing this week.
While McEwan made her feelings known about Hughes’ innocence, her own family criticized her at sentencing for her outburst.
His uncle Martrelle Wilcox said he just wanted justice for his great-nephew and told the court via video link that Hughes “does not deserve to see the light of day.”
“I don’t usually wish jail time on my worst enemy, but that kid couldn’t even defend himself,” he said.
McEwan’s father, Acie, also criticized his daughter’s comments about the sentencing, telling her to “stop trying to defend that man; he killed that baby.”
