PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A Portsmouth man will serve 15 years behind bars after being convicted in the death of his 2-year-old son in 2021.
Rocky A. Mugynei II was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and child abuse back in September 2022.
During his sentencing hearing on Thursday, March 30, Mugynei received 10 years with three years suspended for voluntary manslaughter. For the child abuse and neglect charge, he received 10 years with two years suspended. He will serve a total of 15 years of active time.
Mugynei and the child’s mother, Talaysia Nelson, were both 18 years old when they were arrested for the incident. Both were initially charged with second-degree murder and felony child abuse.
The charges stemmed from the incident that occurred on Feb. 9, 2021 when emergency medical crews responded to the apartment on Suburban Circle to find the 2-year-old boy on the floor and his father, Mugynei, performing CPR, court paperwork states.
Mugynei’s foster mother took the stand during his sentencing Thursday morning.
She said he was never ready to be a father, despite having three other kids.
One child he has with Talaysia, who was conceived through a violation of probation while they were both out on bond. His other two children are with a different woman.
She said he’d never really gotten a fair shot in life. As a baby he was addicted to heroine, courtesy of his biological mother who was a drug addict. She also testified that his father was verbally and physically abusive, made worse because of his alcoholism.
She laid out a brief timeline of February 9th’s tragic events.
Mugynei called her crying and screaming that little Ramonze wasn’t breathing. After getting to his house, they both tried cpr on the little boy, with no luck.
The child was taken to Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.
The medical examiner found the boy had bruises over most of his body, including “extensive” bruising on his neck. There were also bruises on his forehead, back of the head, arms, chest and left leg. There were scratches and abrasions on his arms, chest, left cheek, and above the right eye.
The prosecution expanded on young Ramonze’s injuries Thursday morning.
They said around 180 bruises were found on his body. The Commonwealth attorney told the court the normal amount for a two-year-old is five to eight.
However, they said internal bleeding caused by a force similar to falling multiple stories was the cause of death.
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