Howard County Prosecutors Seeking Life Sentence for Man
KOKOMO, Ind. (WISH) — The Howard County prosecutor said Monday that his office will seek a life sentence in prison without a chance of parole for an 18-year-old man accused of murdering his infant son.
Alexander Bieghler was formally charged Oct. 7 with three top-level felony counts of aggravated battery, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, and murder, and a low-level felony count of reckless homicide in connection to the death of Lucas Bieghler.
Authorities were called just after 1:45 p.m. Sept. 28 to a home in the 7000 block of East County Road 50 North, northwest of the town of Greentown in eastern Howard County. Authorities found Lucas unresponsive, and he was later determined to be dead at Community Howard Regional Hospital in Kokomo. The child was initially believed to be 2 months old, but later was determined to be less than a month old.
A news release issued Monday from Prosecutor Mark McCann said that a key aggravating factor in the case is the child’s age.
According to the Howard County Coroner’s Office, Lucas died from blunt force injuries to the head and his death in a homicide.
Alexander was arrested following the incident and on Monday continued to be held without bond in the county jail in Kokomo. A bail review hearing set for Tuesday has been canceled, online records from Howard Superior Court 2 show.
Investigators, led by Detective Ernie Shirey, said witnesses and family members had provided accounts that were inconsistent with the injuries observed on the infant, and evidence found in the home contradicted their accounts.
