Abdullah Friend

Abdullah Friend, 30, of Williamsport, pleaded guilty to his responsibility in the death of his infant child in April of 2017.

By his admission in court Tuesday, Friend handled the child in a reckless manner in such a way that led to death, eventually resulting in asphyxiation, according to District Attorney Ryan Gardner.

Prescient Judge Nancy Butts sentenced Friend to one to two years in the Lycoming County Prison, with credit for time served, as well as a consecutive six and a half years of probation.

Because Friend had credit for 1,280 days served, he was scheduled to be released from prison to begin his probation sentence.

Friend’s actions included reckless batter and a tight swaddle that resulted in asphyxiation, said District Attorney Ryan Gardner.

“This is a tragic case. It involves a lot of difficult issues from the medical standpoint,” defense attorney Matthew Welickovitch said. “I believe this is a fair resolution to a tragic situation.”

Gardner, who prosecuted Friend, said although the commonwealth could push for a felony 3 homicide, the case would have amounted to a battle of the experts due to a lack of fact witnesses and evidence.

The child’s mother, Cynthia Villanueva, addressed Friend in court over telecom from SCI Muncy.

“If you didn’t do it, you shouldn’t have signed a plea deal for something you didn’t do. I don’t have nothing more to say,” she said.

Butts said as the case moved through the court system, she read background medical literature to inform herself about “shaken baby syndrome,” and the complexity behind determining cause of death and guilt.

Butts described the difficulty in deciding cases like Friend’s. Although taking a plea deal might be seen as devaluing the death of the child, she said, taking a plea allows both parties to honor the memory of the child.