FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A Prairie Grove man has been sentenced to life behind bars for the 2019 murder of his infant son.
According to the Washington County Prosecuting Attorney, Matt Durrett, on Thursday, January 6, Mark Lewis pled guilty to first-degree murder for the death of his 2-week old son Jessie Lewis.
On March 28, 2019, around 8:30 p.m., Prairie Grove officers responded to a report of a deceased infant at an apartment on Baggett Street.
According to a past arrest report, Lewis said he was home with his son on March 26 because the boy's mother was admitted into the hospital five days earlier for childbirth complications.
Lewis, who told Prairie Grove police he had no cell phone and no one to assist him, allegedly punched his son after he got frustrated. He reportedly said his son died after being struck, so he packed some clothing, locked their apartment, and threw away the key.
According to the report, the boy's mother called the police after she found her son dead inside their apartment two days later.