CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A 26-year-old man from Macomb County has been sentenced for his role in the starvation death of his 2-year-old son.
According to authorities, the parents found their biological son dead in his crib in March 2023. The child was examined by a coroner, who determined that he had died from starvation.
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Sierra Pearl Zaitona and Jonathon Matthew Cheek were both charged with second-degree murder and second-degree child abuse. They were held on a $1 million bond because prosecutors felt the couple were a flight risk.
Cheek entered a no-contest plea to both charges in October. He was sentenced Wednesday, Dec. 18, to 24 to 50 years in prison for the second-degree murder charge and 86 months to 10 years for the second-degree child abuse charge.
Zaitona will stand trial on both charges on April 1, 2025. If convicted, she faces the possibility of life behind bars.
