A San Antonio man has been sentenced to three and a half decades behind bars after pleading guilty to the murder of a 10-year-old girl, officials said yesterday.
Paul Bateman, 37, made a plea deal to escape a jury trial admitting to the killing that dated back to August 6, 2018, during which time he was in charge of the young victim and her 1-year-old sister while he claimed he blacked out and upon waking found the older girl dead, the cause later determined to be blunt-force trauma to the head and chest as the younger sibling remained unharmed, according to KSAT.
In what FOX San Antonio described as a somber courtroom, Bateman received his 35-year prison sentence from the 379th District Court, with an additional concurrent five-year term for assaulting a public servant tied to the same tragic episode.
Having had a history of mental illness, Bateman was previously institutionalized for a decade after an insanity plea, the potential of another claim of insanity loomed over these proceedings, which would have become a significant factor if the case had gone to trial, instead, Bateman's guilty plea sealed his fate swiftly, with less legal wrangling and, perhaps, some small measure of relief for the bereaved, as conveyed by Bexar County Criminal District Attorney Joe Gonzales, who told FOX San Antonio, "The circumstances of this case were tragic, our prayers and our hearts are with the victim's family; may they now have some sense of closure, and may their child rest in peace."
The cases against Bateman placed him in the hands of the Family Violence Division of the Bexar County Criminal District Attorney's Office, with Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Lauren Scott and Meredith MacIntire spearheading the hearing that culminated in Thursday's sentence; this according to further information provided by KSAT.
