Father Sentenced To 30 Years For Abusing, Murdering 5-Month-Old Son

GERMANTOWN, MD — A Germantown father was sentenced to 30 years in prison Monday for covering his 5-month-old son's mouth and violently shaking the infant when he wouldn't stop crying, resulting in the baby's death.

Austin Ahimbisibwe, 23, of the 19500 block of Crystal Rock Drive in Germantown, was sentenced for second-degree murder and first-degree child abuse resulting in death for the June 2016 murder of his infant son.

According to a police report, Ahimbisibwe called 911 to report that he was performing CPR on his 5-month-old son, Hudson Ahimbisibwe, who was not breathing on June 23, 2016. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue personnel took the baby to Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where he was pronounced dead.

On June 24, an autopsy was performed by the District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The medical examiner ruled on Oct. 9 that Hudson’s death a homicide caused by head, neck, and upper body trauma.

"Rather than call someone to try to help him when his child began to cry, he chose to physically abuse that child with a constellation of injuries," Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy said, according to NBC Washington.

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Investigators say that Hudson’s mother, Lauren Felitti, and Ahimbisibwe did not live together and that on the day he died, the boy’s mother left him in the care of his father at his home while she was at work. The baby’s mother told police that Hudson was in good health when she left him in Ahimbisibwe’s care.

“I miss my son terribly. I ache for him every second of the day," Felitti said as she wept in court, WUSA9 reports. "And I love him with all my heart."

When police questioned Ahimbisibwe on Oct. 14, 2016, he reportedly said that he became frustrated when the infant would not stop crying, grabbed the baby by the neck and face, covered Hudson’s mouth with his hand, and shook the child in an effort to stop his crying.

"A day does not go by that I don't think about him," Ahimbisibwe said in court. "It's my fault. I want to apologize to my baby. Daddy is sorry for my lack of composure."

»Photo of Austin Ahimbisibwe, courtesy of Montgomery County Police