Michigan man convicted of murder, child abuse of 19-month-old toddler
An Upper Peninsula man accused of fatally injuring a 19-month-old child has been convicted of murder and child abuse.
A federal jury issued those verdicts against Eugene Walter-George Rantanen, 37, of L'Anse, the U.S. District Attorney for the Western District of Michigan reported in a press release Friday.
Rantanen is scheduled to be sentenced this fall.
"Any time a child dies, it is a tragedy. But it is particularly tragic when a caretaker causes the death," Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Byerly Birge said in his statement on the case.
The circumstances began Feb. 19 when the child who was under the care of Rantanen became unresponsive. At the time, they were on the L'Anse Reservation of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.
Despite medical intervention, the child died Feb. 24 as a result of the injuries.
"Based on the medical examiner's testimony at trial, the toddler had suffered blunt force trauma to the head, which caused significant injuries to the brain," the press release said.
The investigation involved Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Tribal Police, the Village of L'Anse Police, the Baraga County Sheriff's Office and Michigan State Police.
This case was part of the Department of Justice's work to address violence against American Indian and Alaska Native peoples through the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons investigation efforts.
