Man sentenced for child abuse murder of Shawnee baby girl

A 27-year-old man was sentenced Wednesday to nearly 13 years in prison for killing an infant girl in Shawnee in 2015.

A Johnson County judge in November found Aaron Peck guilty after Peck pleaded no contest to a charge of intentional second-degree murder in the death of 7-month-old Analeece McHenry-Widmer.

He was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years and 11 months in prison. After his release from prison, Peck will have to register with the state as a violent offender for 15 years.

Peck shared an apartment with the baby’s mother.

When paramedics were called to the apartment, they reported that the infant was having convulsions. She was taken a hospital where doctors determined she had suffered severe head trauma.

She died died the next day.

Peck told police that he was watching Analeece and her two older siblings. He placed her on the floor and went into the kitchen.

When he heard crying, Peck went into the room and saw the 2-year-old on top of the baby.

But a doctor who treated Analeece at Children’s Mercy Hospital that her injuries could not have been caused by the 2-year-old.

“This was a tragic event,” said Assistant District Attorney Jason Covington. “Losing a child under any circumstances is horrific. Losing a child in this manner only compounds the agony for the family and those involved.”

This story was originally published January 31, 2018 at 9:44 AM with the headline "Man sentenced for child abuse murder of Shawnee baby girl."