PG County Dad Pleads Guilty To Killing His 2-Month-Old Son

GREENBELT, MD — A Greenbelt man pleaded guilty Tuesday to punching his 2-month-old son to death, leaving the child's body in the back of a hearse and finally burying his body in a shallow grave in 2016.

Antoine Petty, 32, pleaded guilty to child abuse causing death, a charge that carries a 40-year prison sentence. No plea deal was made in the case. Petty is scheduled to be sentenced in October.

On Oct. 17, 2016, detectives were notified by family members that Petty's wife, Geneice Petty, 24, and their son were missing. Detectives were able to locate Geneice the next day.

Police say Petty became annoyed when his son wouldn't stop crying on Sept. 21, 2016, so he took him outside onto a balcony and punched him several times. WJLA reports that charging documents state Petty continuously punched his son with a closed fist until the child bled from his nose and mouth.

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Petty allegedly put his son's dead body in a 1998 Lincoln Town Car hearse he was driving, and left the boy there for over 24 hours. The Petty parents both admitted they then buried the baby in an effort to conceal the crime, police said. They led detectives to a shallow grave behind Parkdale High School in the Riverdale area, where the baby was found dead.

The parents kept the baby's death a secret for over three weeks, before family reported to police that Geneice and the baby were missing. During interviews, Antoine Petty admitted that he assaulted his son, resulting in the child's death, Prince George's County Police said.

Geneice Petty is charged with involuntary manslaughter and is scheduled for trial later this year.

Photos: Prince George's County Police Department