Itasca County man pleads guilty to 2nd-degree murder in death of 4-year-old boy

A Cass Lake man has pleaded guilty to murder in the death of a 4-year-old boy.

Kevin Daniel Jackson, 29, entered the plea to one count of second-degree unintentional murder Friday in connection to the death of his girlfriend’s 4-year-old son, according to the Itasca County Attorney’s Office.

According to the criminal complaint, first responders were called in August of 2019 to a home in Inger on a report of a 4-year-old boy who was unresponsive. The child was pronounced dead by ambulance personnel while en route to the hospital.

The complaint states deputies were informed by medical professionals that the child may have been suffocated.

Investigators later spoke with the child’s uncle, who said he was in his bedroom when he heard the child crying. The complaint said the boy’s uncle found the child face-down on a couch covered in a blanket and that Jackson was standing over him with a pair of rubber gloves. The uncle said he then went back into his bedroom.

Man charged in connection to death of 4-year-old in Itasca County

According to the complaint, a short time later, the uncle heard the child cry again. The uncle told investigators he left the room and saw Jackson holding the child.

Later that evening, the uncle told investigators he heard the mother screaming. When he went into the living room, he saw the child’s mother performing CPR on the child. The complaint said that Jackson was "acting weird and screaming."

Sheriff’s deputies were later able to locate Jackson and took him into custody.

Jackson is expected to be sentenced to 15 years in prison, according to the attorney’s office.