Red Wing man pleads guilty in murder of 8-week-old infant
Judge gavel, scales of justice and law books in court. (Brian A. Jackson/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
RED WING, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Red Wing man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Monday after the death of an 8-week-old infant in 2023.
Hunter Matthew McCutchen, 28, pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder for the infant's death, after initially being indicted on two counts of first-degree murder, along with 13 additional charges which included 2 counts of first-degree manslaughter and one count of second-degree murder with intent.
If the judge accepts McCutchen's guilty plea, he could be sentenced to 40 years in prison.
READ MORE: Red Wing man indicted for murder over 8-week-old infant death
Before being indicted for first-degree murder, McCutchen had faced four counts of manslaughter, two in the first degree and two in the second degree.
According to the charges, on May 23, 2023, Red Wing police responded to a residence in which McCutchen was found walking from the hallway into the kitchen holding an infant who was unresponsive.
When asked what happened, McCutchen said that, "he was feeding [the infant] on the living room couch, then got up briefly and returned to feeding... and then suddenly the infant became unresponsive," the charges said. Medical records indicate that the infant was a previously healthy 8-week-old.
According to court documents, an X-ray on the infant showed multiple bilateral rib fractures in various stages of healing, as well as, a healing clavicular fracture that was "highly suggestive of no accidental trauma." Imaging of the infant’s head and brain showed multiple areas of bleeding on the brain, and documented loss of brain function.
The next day, the initial 911 caller recorded a conversation with McCutchen on her cell phone, where he said, "I just got so overwhelmed," and that, "I wasn’t thinking," while also admitting he, "put my hand over [the infant's] mouth, but it wasn’t like a death grip or anything." The caller turned those recordings over to investigators.
The infant passed away at the hospital a couple of days later.
McCutchen is set to be sentenced on Sept. 6.