ESSEX, MD—An Essex man has been sentenced to life in prison in connection with the 2019 death of a toddler.

David Marvin Haas, 31, was sentenced on Monday for abuse resulting in the death of a child in Baltimore County Circuit Court.

On June 29, 2019, emergency personnel were called to an apartment on Garden Drive in Essex for a report an unresponsive child. At the scene, officers and EMTs found an unresponsive two-year-old boy.

Medics were unable to revive the child and it became apparent that the child had been deceased for a period of time before they had arrived. An autopsy of the child disclosed that there were numerous bruises and abrasions on the child’s body. There was also evidence of blunt force trauma to the child’s abdomen, which had caused tearing to the bowel.  The child’s pancreas was also torn in half.

The medical examiner concluded that the death was a homicide.

A subsequent investigation determined that Haas was the individual responsible for the care of the child at the time of his death. Haas told a version of facts which was significantly inconsistent with the injuries to the child. He claimed that the child had drowned in a bathtub when he had stepped away to check on another child in the home. Haas was the boyfriend of the mother of the child.

The judge imposed the sentence of life imprisonment as he noted the horrendous nature of the abuse in this case and the abuse of trust the child had placed in the adult caring for him.

State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger stated, “I want to thank Judge (Keith) Truffer for imposing a completely appropriate sentence and my thoughts are with all the people who loved this little boy and to all who will never be able to know him.”

Haas was convicted of first-degree child abuse resulting in death on July 28, 2021.