SAN ANTONIO – Christopher Davila was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Tuesday in connection with the death of King Jay Davila, his 8-month-old stepson.
Davila, 37, was found guilty on a charge of injury to a child causing death in the 227th Criminal District Court. Davila pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Davila must serve at least half of his sentence before he will be eligible for parole, officials said.
Judge Kevin O’Connell took into consideration Davila’s other pending criminal charges of tampering with evidence by concealing a human corpse, as well as unrelated charges of felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance, according to the office of Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales.
“King Jay’s death is a tragedy made even worse by Christopher Davila’s cowardice in attempting to conceal it and avoid responsibility. This plea does not bring back a precious life lost, but it does hold Christopher Davila accountable for this horrible crime,” said Gonzales in a statement.
See the video of the hearing, which was held on Zoom, below:
Authorities believe King Jay died Jan. 4, 2019, the same day Davila and other family members staged King Jay’s kidnapping from a West Side gas station. Beatrice Sampayo, Davila’s mother, and Angie Torres, Davila’s cousin, both face tampering with evidence charges in connection with the incident.
Christopher Davila reported King Jay missing on Jan. 4, 2019.
After days of questioning the family and claiming they were not being cooperative with the investigation, investigators believed King Jay’s so-called kidnapping was staged to cover up “foul-play,” as police had initially suspected.
After a six-day search for King Jay, Davila eventually led investigators on Jan. 10, 2019, to the baby’s body, which was buried in a backpack in a field less than a mile from Davila’s home in the 5800 block of Castle Brook Drive.
Investigators believe that King Jay died after falling from a bed while sitting in a car seat he was not strapped into.
Davila’s sentence came after his attorneys rejected a 50-year plea deal offered to him in February.
It was later revealed in court by King Jay’s mother that Davila was not the baby’s father.
See a timeline of the King Jay case below.
Read more:
Here’s everything we know about King Jay Davila’s death, arrests of his family members
King Jay’s mother: Christopher Davila not baby’s father
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