Military jury convicts Ellsworth AFB airmen of killing six month-old son
Ellsworth AFB
February 19, 2021
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) – A military jury has convicted a senior airman at Ellsworth Air Force Base of killing his 6-month-old son.
The jury found 26-year-old James Cunningham guilty of murder Thursday in the March 2020 death of his son, Zachariah, following a four-day trial at the Air Force base.
Cunningham can decide whether the military judge or the jury will impose his sentence, which is a maximum of life in prison without parole.
Cunningham would serve time in a federal military prison.
Prosecutors said Cunningham lied three times before confessing to punching his son.
Prosecutors say medical evidence showed the baby died from being shaken and hit multiple times.
