Jersey City Man Convicted Of Killing 23-Month-Old: Prosecutor

JERSEY CITY, NJ — A jury Thursday convicted a Jersey City man of murdering a 23-month-old toddler in 2018, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez announced.

Andrew Howard-French, 23, was found guilty of murder, endangering the welfare of a child, and endangering an injured victim related to the 2018 death of Bryce Sparrow in Jersey City, Suarez said in a news release. Howard-French babysat Sparrow.

The jury deliberated for one and a half days following a two-week trial before it announced the verdict.

At minimum, Howard-French will spend 30 years in New Jersey State Prison before being eligible for parole, Suarez said. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 10.

The charges stem from an incident on July 17, 2018 when emergency medical personnel, and firefighters, responded to a Van Wagenen Avenue home on a report of an "overheated infant," Suarez said.

That infant, Sparrow, was taken to Jersey City Medical Center where he was pronounced dead a short while later, the prosecutor said.

The Regional Medical Examiner's Office ruled Sparrow's death a homicide, and Howard-French was arrested July 25, 2018, Suarez said.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com