South Bend father to spend 10 years in prison after infant found dead

SOUTH BEND — Asaiah Molik was in significant pain for the last month of his life, his maternal grandmother told St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Sanford on Monday.

Asaiah had 23 fractures in his ribs and a hemorrhage in his head when he was found dead at 6 months old lying face down in a pile of clothing in January 2021. Even though medical experts could not determine precisely how Asaiah died, Tonya Rosenberger felt her grandson’s death while in the care of his father, Averius Molik, deserved a significant punishment.

“I think the hardest part for all of us is just knowing how long he suffered,” Rosenberger said.

“Asaiah was loved and I wish we had more time to show him that,” she added.

St. Joseph County Prosecutor Ken Cotter also emphasized the pain Asaiah must have felt every time someone picked him up as he asked for a 10-year prison sentence — the most allowed under a plea deal Cotter’s office offered Molik, 23, in August in exchange for Molik admitting to a charge of child neglect resulting in injury.

“My medical experts cannot say that this child’s death was the direct result of his action or inaction. But I can say that every day that child felt that intense pain,” Cotter said.

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Sanford sentenced Molik to 10 years in prison and three years of probation Monday on the child neglect conviction. At the state’s request, Sanford also ruled Molik may have contact with his other child only via telephone.

Evidence of abuse

On Jan. 27, 2021, Asaiah was sleeping in the same bed with his sibling and grandmother. When Asaiah's paternal grandmother woke up, she found the baby "lying on the floor, face down, and unresponsive," court documents say.

Asaiah was rushed to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead there.

An autopsy was conducted at Western Michigan University, and though experts could not determine exactly how Asaiah died, they found evidence of previously fractured ribs and a head injury, which were likely the result of intentional abuse, according to court documents.

Investigators questioned Molik's mother, who said Molik would discipline Asaiah and his other child by "slapping/hitting/popping them in the mouth."

When detectives talked to Molik, he initially said Asaiah's rib injuries happened when he tripped while holding the baby and landed on top of Asaiah accidentally, court documents say. The child neglect charges also stem from Molik’s failure to seek medical care for his son’s apparent injuries.

Molik was originally charged with four neglect of a dependent counts — two of which were Level 1 Felonies — though prosecutors dismissed three of those charges as part of the plea agreement.

In addition to the charges stemming from the death of Asaiah, Molik faces a domestic battery charge in Elkhart County, where prosecutors allege he beat Asaiah's mother while she was pregnant with Asaiah. That case has been put on hold until after the conclusion of his case in St. Joseph County.

‘It’s not justice’

Despite Monday's sentencing, Rosenberger has been vocal about her dissatisfaction about multiple aspects of the case, including the amount of time before criminal charges were filed against Molik and the severity of those charges.

"I don't understand ... why we’re settling for a Level 3 Felony when the level of suffering my grandson went through is horrific," Rosenberger told the Tribune when Molik accepted the plea deal. "The system has failed Asaiah on so many levels."

Rosenberger started a Facebook group called “Justice for Asaiah,” which now calls for criminal charges to be filed against Molik’s mother — Asaiah’s paternal grandmother — who was sleeping in the same bed as the baby when she woke up to find him lying face down in a pile of laundry.

“I don’t think anything in this situation is going to give us closure. It’s not justice,” she said during Monday’s sentencing.

As he issued Molik’s sentence, Sanford also commented on the fact that the family of victims often don’t receive much closure from the outcome of a criminal case.

“No one comes out of this feeling vindicated or feeling good about how things turned out,” Sanford said.

Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend father to spend 10 years in prison after infant found dead