Walter Wynhoff Sentenced To 48 Months For 6-Year-Old Boy's Death

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Walter Henry Wynhoff, 45, was sentenced Monday to 48 months in prison in connection to the death of a 6-year-old boy under his care in 2018. On Wednesday, Wynhoff pleaded guilty to one felony charge of second-degree manslaughter.

Last April, Wynhoff and codefendant Bobbie Christine Bishop, 41, were charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, two counts of second-degree manslaughter, and one count of malicious punishment of a child.

Bishop brought the unresponsive boy to Lake Region Hospital last April, according to the criminal complaint. A detective who responded noted the child's appearance was disturbing "with marks from head to toe, sores, cuts and scratches all over." Medical staff confirmed the boy had infected wounds and multiple signs of trauma consistent with different mechanisms of inflicted injury, including strap marks.

RELATED: 2 Charged With Murder After Child Dies In Fergus Falls

According to the criminal complaint, both Bishop and Wynhoff admitted to failing to bring the child into the hospital. They admitted to disciplining the child with spankings, belts, and restraining him with duct tape. The complaint says the discipline escalated in the month leading up to the death.

Wynhoff told police that Bishop went up to the child's room Monday morning and started screaming. When Wynhoff ran upstairs, he noticed the child was not breathing, and they drove to the emergency room. Bishop said she woke up and found him not breathing and blue in color, according to the criminal complaint.

Police say the boy and his sibling had been living with Bishop and Wynhoff in Fergus Falls for less than a year, and their legal guardian lived in Montana. The children were not enrolled in school.

Bishop's case remains under adjudication with a review hearing scheduled for May 30.