UPDATE: David Haas has been sentenced to life in prison.
Original story below…
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ESSEX, MD—An Essex man has been convicted in connection with the 2019 death of a two-year-old toddler.
David Marvin Haas, 31, was convicted on Wednesday of child abuse resulting in death by a jury in Baltimore County Circuit Court.
On June 29, 2019, emergency personnel were called to an apartment on Garden Drive in Essex for a report of an unresponsive child. At the scene, responding officers and EMTs found an unresponsive two-year-old boy.
Paramedics were unable to revive the child and it became apparent that he had been deceased for some time before they arrived. An autopsy of the child revealed numerous bruises and abrasions on the child’s body. There was also evidence of blunt force trauma to the child’s abdomen which had caused tearing to the bowel and the child’s pancreas was torn in half. The medical examiner concluded that the death was a homicide.
A subsequent investigation by the Baltimore County Police Department revealed that Haas was the individual responsible for the care of the child at the time of his death.
Haas claimed that the child had drowned in a bathtub when he had stepped away to check on another child in the home. Haas was the boyfriend of the mother of the child.
The jury convicted Haas of First-Degree Child Abuse, First-Degree Assault, and Second-Degree Assault. Judge Keith Truffer has set sentencing for October 18th.
The maximum penalty for First-Degree Child Abuse of a child under thirteen years of age is life imprisonment.
“I want to thank Lisa Dever and Erin Anello who prosecuted this case and the dedicated members of the Baltimore County Police and Fire Departments for their hard work to bring David Haas to justice for victimizing and taking the life of an innocent two year old boy,” said State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger. “We must continue to do all we can to protect the most vulnerable of our society from such evil.”
