A 28-year-old man in California will likely spend the rest of his days behind bars for killing his 2-month-old baby, inflicting “repeated physical abuse” on the infant until he ultimately died from his injuries.

Mathew Garcia on Monday was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for the brutal 2020 killing of young Emiliano Garcia, authorities announced. A county jury earlier this year found Garcia guilty on a slew of charges in connection to his son’s death, including one count each of child abuse resulting in death, child abuse resulting in great bodily harm, and misdemeanor child abuse.

According to a news release from the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office, Emiliano was born on Aug. 22, 2020, and lived with his mother, father, and two other children at a home in the 2600 block of East Marsh Street. San Joaquin County is in the state’s Central Valley near Sacramento.

Prosecutors said that what should have been “a safe and loving home” for the baby instead “became a place of harm, leading to the heartbreaking loss of Emiliano’s life.”

Emiliano’s mother in the early morning hours of Nov. 10, 2020, noticed that the infant had a “red spot and a concerning white patch” in his mouth. She immediately sought medical attention, bring the boy to St. Joseph’s Emergency Room. Doctors diagnosed Emiliano with thrush, a yeast infection of the tongue and mouth.

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Emiliano was released that morning and returned home. However, later that evening, Emiliano began “exhibiting troubling symptoms” such as fever, irregular breathing, and seizures while in the care of his father, authorities said. He was admitted to UC Davis Medical Center, this time with severe physical injuries.

“These injuries were not accidental,” prosecutors wrote in the release. “Evidence revealed that Mr. Garcia, driven by anger and frustration, inflicted repeated physical abuse on his child. He admitted to violently shoving a bottle into Emiliano’s mouth, shaking him, kicking him, and — just days before Emiliano’s death — throwing him into a bathtub. Despite noticing a ‘mushy spot’ on Emiliano’s head, Mr. Garcia never sought medical help or informed Ms. Navarro of the incident.”

Emiliano succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on Nov. 14, 2020. A subsequent autopsy determined that the infant’s manner of death was a homicide and the cause of death was “severe craniocerebral trauma” which resulted from “repeated violent assaults.”

“The abuse suffered by Emiliano Garcia is both tragic and unconscionable,” San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas said in a statement following the sentencing hearing. “Today’s sentence holds Mathew Garcia fully accountable for the unimaginable harm he inflicted on his own child. Our office remains committed to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our community, and we hope this sentence brings a measure of closure to those who loved Emiliano.”