A Portland man who fatally shook his 8-month-old baby was sentenced to 10 years in prison as part of a plea deal approved Tuesday.
Isaiah C. Hill, now 21, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and criminal mistreatment in Multnomah County Circuit Court after admitting to squeezing and then violently shaking Milo Raney-Hill during a fit of rage on Oct. 10, 2020.
Hill initially told the baby’s mother and doctors at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital that he had tripped on a dog while carrying Milo, but later confessed after being told that the 17-pound baby’s brain injuries weren’t consistent with a fall.
“I should’ve never touched him when I was angry,” Hill told detectives, according to the transcript.
The baby was taken off life support on Oct. 14, and Hill was arrested later that day at his home in the South Burlingame neighborhood.
In May, Judge Amy Baggio excluded the confession from a potential trial after finding that the detectives hadn’t properly warned Hill of his Miranda rights. Prosecutors challenged the ruling but the Oregon Appeals Court declined to hear the matter, saying they didn’t have jurisdiction.
Milo’s great-grandmother, Edith Karlin, called for a longer punishment during the sentencing, noting that Hill could have given the baby to another relative who was home at the time instead of growing frustrated with the child’s cries.
“He should be spending his whole life in jail, just like little Milo is in his grave forever,” she said. “Our hearts are broken and will remain broken for the rest of our lives.”
Hill turned to face Karlin as she spoke, then stood up and expressed regret for “the loss and the pain I have caused.”
“Milo holds me accountable every day,” Hill said. “I accept my sentence and resolve to make the best of it so I can become the man I should have been.”
The baby’s mother watched the sentencing by video and declined to speak to the court.
Defense attorney Deborah Burdzik noted that Hill had an unstable childhood in Indiana and was homeless at times in high school. She said he hopes to study to be an electrician while in prison.
Burdzik asked the judge to designate Hill eligible for transitional leave, which would allow him to spend the last four months of his sentence in a halfway house if permitted by the state Department of Corrections.
Deputy District Attorney Charles Mickley asked Baggio not to reduce the sentence, saying Hill had already gotten “a very good deal.”
Baggio said she wanted to find Hill eligible for transitional leave because it would help him find support and stability while re-entering society, but said state law prevented her from doing so because Hill’s act led to the death of a baby, which is more severe than the typical case of criminal mistreatment.
The judge then sentenced Hill to 10 years in prison with credit only for time-served.
