Wallace gets 72 years in infant son's death
MUNCIE, Ind. — “Baby Jensen lived almost every day of his life in pain, hunger and distress,” Judge Marianne Vorhees said Friday.
The Delaware Circuit Court 1 judge sentenced Jensen’s father, Cory Wallace, to 72 years in prison for his actions leading to and in the wake of the February 2015 death of his 4-month-old son.
A jury on Sept. 26 found Wallace, 24, guilty of five felonies, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, arson, battery resulting in serious bodily injury to a person less than 14 years old, battery on a person less than 14 years old and obstruction of justice.
Prosecutors said Wallace failed to seek medical treatment for Jensen after the baby suffered what proved to be fatal brain injuries. He then set fires in the child’s bedroom, in their family’s Meeker Avenue home, in a bid to cover up the cause of death.
Jury finds Wallace guilty on all charges
Wallace testified at his trial that his son had been fatally injured in an accidental fall.
At Friday’s sentencing hearing, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Eric Hoffman again said the little boy’s brain injuries were almost certainly caused by being severely shaken.
Both Hoffman and Vorhees noted not only the baby’s fatal injuries, and the later fires, but also the many injuries Jensen had suffered earlier — including broken ribs, torn tissue in his mouth, and cuts and scrapes all over his body.
Vorhees said for those at the trial, viewing images of the infant’s remains was “totally surreal, an out-of-body experience … like watching the worst horror movie you could imagine.”
Jensen Wallace — who a pediatrician testified was severely underweight — “suffered severe, excruciating pain every day of his life,” the judge said.
Hoffman said that “most people treat animals” better than Cory Wallace treated his infant son.
“Most animals treat their offspring better than Cory Wallace (treated his),” the chief deputy prosecutor added.
Hoffman recommended a maximum sentence of 76 years and six months. He called Wallace’s crimes “revolting, atrocious and deplorable.”
“Cory Wallace is one person who deserves no mercy whatsoever,” Hoffman said. “I don’t know too many criminals who would actually set their baby on fire.”
He also suggested Wallace’s surviving children were “better off with him out of their life.”
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Wallace was convicted of neglect of a dependent in Marion County over injuries sustained by his older son, many of which were nearly identical to those later inflicted on Jensen, the pediatrician testified.
Wallace’s public defender, Ron Smith, recommended that his client be sentenced to 30 years in prison. He presented the testimony of two of the defendant’s relatives, who pleaded for leniency.
Wallace — who has Jensen’s name tattooed on the right side of his neck — declined to make a statement at Friday’s hearing.
Vorhees said in 14 years on the bench that she had “never seen such horrible injuries inflicted on a child, let alone a baby.”
At the trial, Smith and Wallace suggested the defendant’s now-former wife, Sheryl, was responsible for the baby’s death.
Sheryl Wallace, 21, is set to stand trial Nov. 14 on charges of neglect of a dependent resulting in death and obstruction of justice.
Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. Follow him on Twitter: @DouglasWalkerSP.