A Kansas man has been sentenced to 56 years in prison after his toddler starved to death while he was passed out drunk.
Forty-seven-year-old Jeffrey Exon’s sentencing follows his conviction in April over charges of aggravated child endangerment, first and second-degree murder in the death of his two-year-old daughter Aurora. The sentence was the maximum that could be imposed, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported.
During the trial earlier this year, prosecutors said that Aurora and her then-four-year-old brother Teddy were found in Exon’s home on January 5 2021 after Exon made a 911 call reporting that his daughter had stopped breathing.
He told law enforcement that the little girl was “starving herself,” but Teddy later went on to tell investigators that he and his sister had been locked in their rooms for several days without food while Exon “slept”.
Aurora was cold to the touch by the time authorities arrived at the home, and she was declared dead at the scene.
Five empty spirit bottles were found in Exon’s bedroom. Prosecutors argued that he did not feed his children because of his addiction issues.
Aurora’s cause of death was determined to be a form of malnutrition called marasmus.
Exon’s son also testified at the trial that his father had been passed out in the days leading up to Aurora’s death.
