Life Sentence for Dell Rapids Man in Stepson’s Death

From a case stemming back to December of 2016 a Dell Rapids, South Dakota man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for the death of his own stepson.

39-year-old Keith Cornette was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the second degree murder of his stepson. Minnehaha County State's Attorney Aaron McGowan was the prosecutor in the case. According to KSFY TV, McGowan said the autopsy was one of the worst he has ever dealt with.

"I've put two and a half years into this case, I was there the day it happened, I was at the interview with the defendant, I was at the autopsy, and I'm pleased that we finally brought this case to a close today," McGowan said.

KSFY TV reports that 18-month-old Hayden Wigton was found unresponsive in a Dell Rapids home December 7th of 2016. An autopsy showed skull fractures after being hit in the head six times.

Source: KSFY TV