ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. — A man convicted in the beating death of his 5-year-old stepson was sentenced Friday to 70 years in prison.
Prosecutors with the Adams County District Attorney's Office say Barney Savedra, 30, pleaded guilty in May of second-degree murder and first degree assault as part of a plea agreement that stipulated the 70-year sentence.
Law enforcement officers were called out to an apartment in the 6400 block of Tennyson Street in Arvada April 8, 2018, where they found 5-year-old Malachi Perkins unresponsive. The boy was taken to Denver Health Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy for the boy found he’d suffered a lacerated spleen, broken ribs, lacerated lungs and a ruptured liver from Savedra’s abuse. Prosecutors say Savedra was taking care of the boy while his mother worked.
Adams County District Judge Don Quick said this was one of the most horrific cases he had seen in his career in the criminal justice system.