SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. -- The North Port man accused of killing his 2-month old son in 2015 has been sentenced to 75 years in prison after negotiating a plea.
Joseph Walsh was awaiting trial later this year on 1st Degree Murder charges in the death of Chance Walsh. Under the plea deal, the state amended charges to 2nd Degree Murder and Aggravated Child Abuse. Walsh will serve concurrent sentences of 45 and 30 years for those charges.
Chance's mother, Kristen Bury, told investigators that in September 2015, during an argument, Joseph Walsh struck baby Chance in the head. The baby later died from his injuries and was left for dead in his crib. Several days later, the couple buried Chance in a remote North Port lot and fled the state. They were apprehended after a vehicle crash in South Carolina.
Bury later agreed to testify against Walsh in exchange for a 25-year sentence. Last September she was found dead in her jail cell of an apparent suicide.
