Dad who ‘no longer cared’ sentenced for killing his newborn son in Richland

Two months after admitting to killing his 6-week-old son, a Richland man claimed a biased investigation led to his arrest.

“This will be an experience that I learn from and will never forget ... to never trust law enforcement again,” Jose L. Rosas Olivo told a Tri-Cities judge. “Please consider giving me the bottom of the range. I’m begging you. It would give me the opportunity to exercise and show the knowledge and skills that I have gained.”

But Judge Jackie Shea Brown detailed the horrific abuse the 31-year-old admitted to police before she sentenced him to 25 years in prison.

The infant died in September 2021 after suffering a skull fracture, brain hemorrhage, broken ribs and cuts to his liver. Olivo told police detectives he dropped, threw and squeezed the baby.

“In my time as an attorney and as a judge, I’ve not heard of such egregious conduct,” Shea Brown told him.

Rosas Olivo was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty two months ago to homicide by abuse. The crime is considered as serious as first-degree murder and carries a potential sentence of 20 to 26 years in prison.

Prosecutors and defense Attorney Dennis Hanson agreed to recommend 24 years to the judge if he pleaded guilty without need for a trial.

But when Rosas Olivo started to back track Friday on taking responsibility for his son’s death, it drew a strong rebuke from Deputy Prosecutor Taylor Anderson and she immediately asked for the maximum term because Rosas Olivo had broken his promise.

“This is not someone who is taking responsibility for the heinous actions committed against a 6-week-old child,” she said. “This is someone who has zero remorse for what he did and wants to blame other people and is not taking accountability.”

Hanson clarified that Rosas Olivo was not trying to take back his guilty plea.

“My client is not a seasoned criminal,” he said. “I don’t think he intended any ill will or violating the plea agreement.”

Shea Brown sentenced Rosas Olivo to 25 years in prison after pointing out that parents must care and protect children.

“Mr. Olivo failed in all aspects relative to this,” she said. “Those duties are at their most important and increase and should be at their highest when you have a child who is more vulnerable. And this couldn’t be any more of vulnerable child at 6 weeks old. No one, no one is there to help them.”

Baby’s death

Anderson argued that Richland police detectives were the only ones who sought justice for the 6-week-old baby. The infant’s family had largely defended Rosas Olivo, and the baby’s mother has not responded to the prosecution.

“The absence of any meaningful advocacy for this child from his own family has been deeply disheartening,” Anderson said.

Messages between the child’s mother and Rosas Olivo showed an “emotional detachment” from the baby and that they were indifferent to him in both life and death.

The case started when Rosas Olivo discovered the child, referred to as J.R. in court documents, not breathing in his crib and took him to Kadlec Regional Medical Center but he couldn’t be revived.

Rosas Olivo told police the baby was never comfortable and cried frequently.

He initially said he would never hurt his son but eventually admitted he smacked the baby on his rear or lower back and “may have hugged or squeezed” him too hard. He also said he might have hurt him when he performed CPR.

During another interview with police, he admitted that he’d been depressed, frustrated and stressed while trying to care for the baby. He said he couldn’t tell the child’s mother about his frustrations.

“After three weeks of trying to be a good father, he began to hurt J.R. He stated at that point, he, “(N)o longer cared.”

He started to be a little rough with the baby. When J.R. wouldn’t stop crying, Rosas Olivo found himself throwing or dropping the boy into the crib so his head hit the railing.

He said the baby often was swaddled in a blanket when he was tossed, sometimes rotating “like a football,” documents said.

The night before the baby died, Rosas Olivo threw the child against the railing of the crib while the baby’s mother was asleep. He said he also squeezed J.R. hard when the baby woke up crying after he dropping his phone on his head.

Rosas Olivo said he woke up the next morning worried that he had hurt the baby and found J.R. unresponsive.

Rosas Olivo’s denial

Hanson told Shea Brown he had spent time and resources looking into the case. He had hired a forensic pathologist to examine the records, and while the doctor could provide explanations for many of the injuries, there were unanswered questions.

Rosas Olivo’s family spoke in his defense at the sentencing hearing. They said he was always caring and it was hard to believe he would do something to hurt the child.

“It’s hard to believe it because we’ve never seen him (act that way) with his younger daughter, “ Rosas Olivo’s brother translated.

Rosas Olivo also denied abusing the boy, saying the police never found the real truth.