Mont. father convicted of shaking infant to death

A jury found a Missoula man guilty of shaking his 3-month-old son to death.

Robert J. Wilkes, 38, was convicted of deliberate homicide Friday in the October 2008 death of Gabriel Wilkes. Robert Wilkes, who had been out of jail on conditional release, was ordered jailed on $100,000 bail.

A baby sitter who had been watching Gabriel on Oct. 4, 2008, said Wilkes picked up his son but returned to her apartment about an hour later and asked her to call 911.

Gabriel was "limp, blue, unresponsive, cold and struggling to breathe," Deputy Missoula County Attorney Suzy Boylan said during opening arguments.

Jurors heard testimony from medical experts, who said the infant's injuries were equivalent to a fall from a 2- or 3-story window or being involved a high speed car crash.

The infant was treated at a hospital in Spokane, Wash., where he was declared brain dead and removed from life support. He died several weeks later in hospice care.

Wilkes testified that he didn't know what happened to his son, but that the baby wasn't hurt while under his supervision.

"It makes me angry that my son is dead. It makes me angry that I'm the one accused of his death," Wilkes testified Thursday. "I don't know who did it. But I had no reason to be mad at my son. He was 3 months old."

Public defender Scott Spencer argued the prosecution did not prove that Wilkes caused the fatal injuries.

"There simply is no evidence to convince you beyond a reasonable doubt that Gabriel suffered the fatal injuries under Wilkes' care," Spencer said. "Is it suspicious? Absolutely. Is it a tragedy? absolutely. But (Wilkes) didn't do it.

"There's not one person who has walked into this courtroom and said, 'I know what happened'" Spencer argued.

Boylan asked jurors to decide if they believed Wilkes' denials.

"The medical evidence says those denials just aren't possible," she said.