FATHER SENTENCED TO 60 YEARS FOR THE MURDER OF HIS 6-MONTH-OLD BABY

Evansville, IN – Prosecutor Diana Moers announces that on February 21, 2025, Shane Christefer Hedrick was sentenced by the Honorable Magistrate Judge Ryan C. Reed of the Vanderburgh County Circuit Court to 60 years in the Department of Correction. This sentence follows a jury trial in January where Hendrick was found guilty of Murder and two counts of Neglect of Dependent Resulting in Death.

On January 25, 2024, Shane Hedrick called 911 and reported his child was unresponsive. Hedrick admitted to law enforcement to striking the child the night before because the child wouldn’t stop crying. Prior to his admission, the Defendant had voiced his displeasure with his role as a stay-at-home dad and complained about the status of his relationship with the mother of his two children. Pathologist James Jacobi determined the child’s cause of death to be Abusive Head Trauma. Due to the injuries suffered by the deceased child, Hedrick’s older child was evaluated for injuries indicative of abuse. The child was observed to have bruises in multiple different areas of their body, the pattern and location of which were abnormal.

Chief Deputy Lin stated: There is no excuse for a father to hit his 6-month-old baby for crying, let alone when it results in the child’s death due to abusive head trauma. Because of the severity of this crime, the State argued for Shane Hedrick to serve 60 years executed in the Indiana Department of Correction, and the Honorable Magistrate Judge Ryan C. Reed of the Vanderburgh County Circuit Court agreed with the State and sentenced him accordingly. Crimes against young, innocent children are among the worst crimes of all, and any persons who commit these crimes will be held severely accountable in Vanderburgh County.

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