Bartow man who 'viciously murdered' his 4-month-old baby gets 30 years in prison
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BARTOW, Fla. (WFLA) — A Bartow man who investigators said “viciously murdered” his 4-month-old baby will be spending the next 30 years in prison.

Jacob Kubai, 23, was sentenced last month after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated manslaughter of a child in January, the State Attorney’s Office said.

The case stems back to Feb. 23, 2024, when Kubai’s 4-month-old daughter nicknamed “Strawberry” showed up at Bartow Regional Medical Center with no brain activity and multiple injuries.

Investigators said Kubai drove his daughter to the hospital, claiming the 4-year-old was fine until he suddenly found her unresponsive after feeding her and laying her down on her stomach.

An autopsy revealed the infant suffered 10 rib fractures, multiple blunt force trauma strikes to the front of her head, and a swollen and hemorrhaged spine.

The medical examiner said the fractured ribs were likely from the girl being squeezed, and that she was struck in the head a minimum of 10 times.

“The baby was literally beaten to death,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told reporters during a press conference in March.

Officials said the baby died two days after being taken to the hospital.

According to investigators, Kubai was the girl’s primary caregiver, as her mother was working two jobs at the time. The mother told detectives her baby didn’t have any bruising before she left for work that day.

Detectives continued to find cracks in Kubai’s story after he told them he had taken the infant to Walmart earlier on Feb. 23, 2024, but she was never seen on any surveillance video from the store.

In an interview afterward, Kubai told investigators, “None of this real,” referring to his family. Detectives said he didn’t show any remorse or even shed a tear.

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