Father who refused to give up toddler son for adoption then beat him to death is sentenced

MARQUETTE, Mich. (TCN) -- A 37-year-old father will spend the rest of his life behind bars for fatally beating his young son, who he refused to give up for adoption.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan announced Aug. 25 that a judge sentenced Eugene Walter-George Rantanen to life in prison for murder and first-degree child abuse. U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney said the sentence "will do justice" given Rantanen’s "horrendous treatment" of the victim.

According to prosecutors, on the night of Feb. 19, 2024, the defendant was caring for his 19-month-old son, Carter, when he called 911 and reported that the child was unresponsive. The boy underwent "extensive medical intervention" involving three separate hospitals but died from his head injuries several days later.

The attorney’s office said the boy had "suffered from abusive assault and inflicted trauma, and the medical examiner found that Carter’s cause of death was blunt-force trauma, and the manner of death was homicide."

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey said the child’s biological mother "had arranged for him to be adopted by a loving family, but Rantanen insisted on having custody of Carter, and all evidence suggests that, instead of loving and doting on and caring for Carter, Rantanen subjected him to months of abuse and neglect."

Reuben Coleman, acting special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, added, "The conviction of Eugene Rantanen further assures the public that this child predator and murderer will never again have the opportunity to harm another innocent young soul."

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