Columbus man who told police he shook infant daughter 'gently' gets prison in her death
Editor's note: Javion Bawlen's daughter's name was Ja'Nyla Bawlen. Due to incorrect information provided to The Dispatch, an earlier version of this story misspelled the baby's name.
The Franklin County Coroner’s Office determined that 2-month-old Ja'Nyla Bawlen had bleeding around her brain and ruled that her death in December 2019 was a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head.
Franklin County Assistant Prosecutor Daniel Meyer said Monday in county Common Pleas Court that Javion Bawlen, then-19, admitted to Columbus police detectives that he shook his infant daughter at his Wedgewood apartment in the Hilltop.
Now 23, Bawlen avoided a murder trial Monday by accepting a plea deal to a charge of involuntary manslaughter.
Bawlen entered an Alford plea, meaning he maintains his innocence but acknowledges the evidence against him would likely mean a conviction at trial and a longer sentence than he will get with the plea deal.
Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Andy Miller sentenced Bawlen to a minimum prison term of five years at the request of Franklin County prosecutors and Bawlen’s defense attorney. Bawlen will spend at least about two more years behind bars since he has already served over three years in jail and on house arrest.
If Bawlen misbehaves in prison, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitations and Corrections could extend his sentence up to two years and six months more.
In exchange for his plea, Franklin County prosecutors dropped charges of murder, felonious assault and endangering children.
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Meyer said Bawlen told Columbus police that Ja'Nyla had been running a fever and was fussy all night before he found her cold and limp on the morning of Dec. 17, 2019 and called 911.
Meyer said Bawlen told police, “It’s my fault, I wish I could take it all back.”
“He stated he plays too rough with the child,” Meyer said. “He admitted to getting frustrated when the infant cried and that he would shake her gently to get her attention so she would stop crying.”
According to Meyer, Ja'Nyla’s mother was also home the night Ja'Nyla died.
Mike Morgan, Bawlen's county public defense attorney, said this is a very difficult case, and emphasized that Bawlen cared for his first-born child.
“I never once thought he was guilty of murder,” Morgan said. “There’s probably a better argument for reckless homicide. But this is a good resolution.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Dad goes to prison in death of 2-month-old from blunt force trauma
