A North Texas man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the 2015 fatal beating of his girlfriend's 2-year-old son, the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office says.
Christian Michael Tyrrell, 24, was accused of capital murder in the death of Adrian Langlais, who died at Cook Children's Medical Center days after he was beaten and put in time out for refusing to eat.
A Tarrant County jury found Tyrrell guilty Thursday and, with prosecutors having waived the death penalty, he was automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole.
“Christian Tyrrell committed the horrific murder of an innocent 2 year old child. I am glad the jury saw the truth of the case and did what they needed to do," said Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Sharen Wilson. "Tyrrell is not fit to be a member of society, and will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.”
According to an arrest warrant, Adrian's mother, Jessica Langlais, told police that on March 17, 2015 her boyfriend, Tyrrell, took Adrian to another room to put him in timeout when he refused to eat. She told police she heard Tyrrell yell at Adrian and then heard silence before Tyrrell returned from the room alone.
A few minutes later, when Tyrrell brought him out of the other room, Langlais said she noticed that Adrian had bruises on his face and he had trouble keeping his eyes open.
She said Tyrrell told her that he found Adrian lying on his back outside his play pen. She said Adrian did not eat again that day, had trouble standing and vomited that evening.
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The next day, Adrian vomited shortly after eating. After Langlais went to work, she said Tyrrell called and told her an ambulance had taken Adrian to the hospital after he had a seizure and was not breathing.
Tyrrell told police that Adrian seemed fine before he reported the seizure. A search of Tyrrell's cellphone, though revealed several Internet searches pertaining to head injuries and concussions between Adrian's timeout and seizure.
Langlais was unresponsive when he arrived at Cook Children's Medical Center by ambulance March 18, 2015. Medical workers called police after doctors noted Langlais appeared to numerous injuries that suggested severe head trauma.
A hospital examination would later reveal Adrian had severe head trauma, multiple skull fractures and bleeding on the brain, and bruising and swelling on his face.
Adrian was pronounced dead the next day. The Tarrant County medical examiner has since ruled the boy's cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head.
"Tyrrell silenced the voice of a 2-year-old boy who never had the chance to speak up for himself. We were proud to be Adrian's voice in the courtroom, and the jury spoke volumes for Adrian with their verdict," prosecutors Kevin Boneberg and Kelly Meador said in a statement.
Earlier this summer Adrian's mother was also charged with capital murder in connection with his death. Charges are still pending against Jessica Langlais and her next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 21.
NBC 5's Todd Davis contributed to this report.
