Plea deal will bring 30-year sentence in child's death

HARTFORD, Conn. --An East Hartford father has avoided the death penalty in the shaking death of his 13-month-old son.

Matthew Belanger pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault and risk of injury to a minor under the Alford Doctrine, in which a defendant does not admit guilt but concedes the state has enough evidence for a conviction.

The plea deal, reached Monday in Hartford Superior Court, calls for Belanger, 22, to spend 30 years in prison.

Belanger's son, Luis, died in February 2005, two days after Belanger called 911. He was watching Luis and his 3-year-old brother while his girlfriend was at work.

Belanger first told East Hartford police that he heard banging noises coming from the boys' room and saw Luis on his back on the floor.

A doctor at the hospital called police about eight hours after Luis was admitted to say the baby's injuries were inconsistent with Belanger's story.

Police interviewed Belanger, who told them he was "messed up in the head."

Police said Belanger told them that while his girlfriend was at work, he became "really stressed out," got a bad headache, and yelled at Luis to stop crying.

Belanger told them that when the baby kept crying, he started shaking him, then threw him on a couch. Police said Belanger told them he hadn't meant to hurt his son.

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Information from: Journal Inquirer, http://www.journalinquirer.com