Prosecutors will seek a life sentence for a suburban Chicago man accused of beating a 4-year-old girl to death after she spilled juice on an Xbox video console. Prosecutors say "heinous" circumstances justify the sentence for 19-year-old Johnathan Fair, of Waukegan, if he is eventually convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend's daughter, Skylar Mendez, the Chicago Tribune reports. Fair was babysitting Skylar on Dec. 13 at a Waukegan apartment when she was fatally injured. He brought her to a hospital after she lost consciousness and initially claimed she'd fallen.
She died a few days later at a Chicago hospital following surgery doctors had hoped would relieve swelling of her brain, prosecutors say. Skylar's mother was not at home at the time of the alleged beating, Waukegan police say. Fair's attorney, Sam Amirante, tells the AP his client deserves the presumption of innocence accorded to anyone accused of a crime. "When the real facts come out, he will be acquitted," says Amirante, who declined to comment specifically on the allegation that juice spilled on the Xbox triggered a beating. Fair remains jailed with bail set at $5 million. His arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 17.
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