A Georgia man convicted of poisoning his newborn will spend decades in prison, police say.
Curtis Jack was given a 50-year sentence after a jury found him guilty on charges connected to the antifreeze poisoning that sickened his infant daughter, the City of South Fulton Police Department said April 11.
Jack will serve 40 years behind bars, followed by 10 years on parole, authorities said.
On Oct. 1, 2020, investigators said he picked up bottles of breastmilk from his child’s mother, who was hospitalized after giving birth weeks earlier. The two had been in a romantic relationship since January of that year, and Jack insisted that she end the pregnancy, according to police.
Jack dropped off the bottles to the child’s grandmother, who was watching the infant and the woman’s other daughter, according to authorities.
Within 24 hours, the baby fell “critically ill” from a possible poisoning, investigators said.
Jack acknowledged adding antifreeze to the breastmilk during an interview with South Fulton Police Department detectives, police said.
The engine coolant is used in vehicles and can be “extremely toxic” if ingested, even in small amounts, according to PoisonHelp.org. Symptoms can be delayed and include drowsiness, vomiting, kidney damage and death, experts said.
“During the trial, the State presented testimonies from the child’s mother, grandmother, law enforcement officers, and medical experts, including a demonstration of how easy it was to poison the breastmilk,” police said.
Authorities didn’t give an update on the child’s condition.
The City of South Fulton is about a 20-mile drive southwest from downtown Atlanta.
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