A Clinton Township man, Jonathon Cheek, has entered a no-contest plea to charges of second-degree murder and second-degree child abuse in the starvation death of his two-year-old son. A no-contest plea is treated much the same as a guilty plea during sentencing in Michigan. The plea arrangement has set forth a recommended sentence ranging from 24 to 50 years in prison, according to The Detroit News.
Records show that authorities were called to Cheek’s home on March 16, 2023, after receiving a report of an unresponsive child. The boy was found deceased and a medical examiner later confirmed that he had died from fatal starvation. Cheek is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18, as per court records, and was facing a potential life sentence before the plea agreement. His co-defendant, Sierra Pearl Zaitona, the child’s mother, is set to stand trial on April 1, 2025, and information from ClickOnDetroit indicates that Zaitona found the child dead while Cheek was reportedly visiting his mother’s house…