By Shereen Siewert
A Merrill man is the second person to be sentenced to prison in connection with the death of a 15-month-old boy who had dozens of lesions on his body and methamphetamine in his system when he died.
A Lincoln County judge on Monday sentenced Cody Gene Robertson, 26, to five years in prison for child neglect in which the consequence is death. The felony charge was filed in May 2021 after a six-month investigation. Robertson was convicted in August.
The boy’s mother, 23-year-old Amber Paige Boyd, was convicted of the same charge and in July was sentenced to four years in prison for her role in her child’s death. Two additional child neglect charges, along with possession of methamphetamine, possession of amphetamine/LSD/Psiolocin, possession of THC, possession of drug paraphernalia to manufacture methamphetamine in the presence of a child younger than 14 and possession of drug paraphernalia were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Police say Boyd, at about 1:20 p.m. on Nov. 12, 2020 called 911 to report she found her child not breathing at her town of Corning home. Boyd told dispatchers she discovered the child “like five minutes” earlier, and called another person before calling 911. Officers and rescue crews arrived about 15 minutes later and noted that the child had numerous bruises to the face, head, arms and legs, according to the criminal complaint.
According to court documents, an autopsy performed the following day showed the child weighed just 17 pounds at the time of his death, below the third percentile for children his age. Blood test results showed the boy’s siblings also had methamphetamine in their urine, according to court documents.
Police say Boyd admitted that she and Robertson smoked methamphetamine in the living room on the day the boy died. Methamphetamine was discovered at the scene.
In addition to the initial prison term, Robertson was also ordered to spend six years on extended supervision following his eventual release. He is required to maintain absolute sobriety, participate in counseling and take parenting classes.
But Robertson will be out of prison in a little more than three years. At sentencing, Circuit Judge Robert Russell granted him 558 days sentence credit for time served while awaiting trial.
