GULFPORT, Miss. (WJTV) – A Gulfport man was sentenced to 40 years in prison in connection to the death of a six-week-old boy.

WXXV reported Kendall Pritchett, Sr., 27, was sentenced last week after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in May 2023.

Gulfport police responded to Garden Park Hospital on May 3, 2020, after receiving a call about a deceased baby. The medical examiner determined the cause of death for the child was complications from a thermal burn injury. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.

After an investigation, Gulfport police arrested Pritchett, who was the father of the six-week-old.

During court hearings, Pritchett stated he and the mother were under in the influence of drugs at the time the baby was injured. He said the baby was burned during the bath.