Father Admits Killing Son, 5, Over Cheesecake

Travis Stackhouse was upset kids were eating the treat he'd gotten for Father's Day
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 7, 2021 2:10 AM CDT
Father Admits Killing Son, 5, Over Cheesecake
Travis Stackhouse.   (Mugshot via Fox 6)

A Milwaukee man pleaded guilty Thursday to killing his 5-year-old son in June 2019 because he was upset his children were eating the cheesecake he'd received for Father's Day while the man, Travis Stackhouse, now 30, only got one piece. Stackhouse was on trial this week for first-degree homicide, but two days into the testimony from the state's witnesses, he agreed to plead guilty to second-degree reckless homicide, child abuse, and child neglect, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. Stackhouse had previously admitted to hitting the boy in the face, then leaving for a bar. The boy's mother called 911 hours later, and the boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

But authorities found the boy died from blunt force trauma to the abdomen, having also suffered a ruptured stomach, bruised kidneys, and a torn adrenal gland. Stackhouse told police the boy had fallen down the stairs, but the injuries didn't appear consistent with that, and the boy's then-6-year-old brother told police that hadn't actually happened, the Journal-Sentinel reported in 2019. Stackhouse was reportedly upset at the idea of the boy being called as a witness, and agreed to allow his police interview to be shown to the jury instead. He later asked to talk to his mother, and then ultimately agreed to the plea. He faces 37 years behind bars. He'll be sentenced June 29, CBS 58 reports. (More Milwaukee stories.)

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