South Bend father takes plea deal in case of 6-month-old baby found dead
SOUTH BEND — The father of a 6-month-old infant who was found laying dead in a pile of clothing has entered into a plea deal that will see him spend up to 10 years in prison.
Averius Molik, 23, had been charged with multiple counts of child neglect resulting in serious injury after Asaiah Molik died in January 2021 while in the care of Averius Molik and his mother.
Other members of Asaiah's family, including his maternal grandmother, have called for more severe charges against Molik, but medical experts could not determine Asaiah's cause of death. After nearly a year of running tests and consulting with pathologists, prosecutors proceeded with neglect, not murder, charges against Molik in December.
According to court documents, doctors found signs of abuse during Asaiah's autopsy, including 23 fractures in the baby's ribs and a hemorrhage in the child's head.
In a plea deal signed Friday, Molik admitted to one count of child neglect in exchange for prosecutors dropping three other charges. According to the terms of the agreement, Molik's could be sentenced to 16 years, but the maximum amount of time he can spend in prison is 10 years. It will be up to St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Sanford to determine the length of the sentence and how much of it will be served in prison.
According to recently filed court documents, Asaiah was in the care of Molik and Asaiah's paternal grandmother at their house on East Donald Street in the months leading up to his death at the order of the Department of Child Services.
On Jan. 27, Asaiah was sleeping in the same bed with his sibling and grandmother. When Asaiah's grandmother woke up, she found the baby "lying on the floor, face down, and unresponsive," court documents say.
The child was rushed to the hospital, but 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, the man said Asaiah's rib injuries happened when he tripped while holding the baby and landed on top of Asaiah accidentally, court documents say. Prosecutors also accused Molik of not getting medical care for Asaiah.
Molik is scheduled for sentencing in mid-September after pleading guilty to the Level 3 Felony. Normally, the sentencing range for a Level 3 Felony is 3 to 16 years, with the advisory sentence starting at nine years. As part of the plea deal, which was provisionally accepted by Sanford, Molik cannot be sentenced to more than 10 years. As part of the plea, prosecutors dismissed two counts that carried a maximum of 40 years if Molik had been convicted.
Tonya Rosenberger, Asaiah's maternal grandmother, has been vocal online about her dissatisfaction with the severity of the charges brought against Molik, starting a Facebook group called “Justice for Asaiah." Roesnberger said the plea deal offered to Molik is another "failure" of the justice system.
"I don't understand ... why we’re settling for a Level 3 Felony when the level of suffering my grandson went through is horrific," she said. “The system has failed Asaiah on so many levels.”
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 while Molik's charges in St. Joseph County are settled.
Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend man pleads guilty in case of 6-month-old dead baby
