COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) - A Mississippi man has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to killing the 4-year-old son of the woman he was dating.
News outlets report that 30-year-old Patrick Chambers was arrested in January 2015 in the shooting death of Brayden Barksdale. Investigators say the boy was killed with a rifle.
Chambers pleaded guilty to capital murder Friday and was sentenced to life without parole as a habitual offender.
He had previous felonies from Williams County, North Dakota, including conspiracy to commit burglary and several counts of violation of a protection order.
In court, Circuit Judge Jim Kitchens read a statement from Brayden's mother, Amy Boykin, who said her son kept her "grounded."
Chambers declined to speak to the boy's family in the courtroom.