PARMA, OHIO: An Ohio father who confessed to killing his five-year-old son with a baseball bat in a chilling 911 call has been sentenced to life in prison.
Judge Timothy McGinty on Thursday, November 9, handed Matthew J Ponomarenko, 34, the combined life sentence with a chance of parole after 45 years, according to Fox 8.
He was found guilty of aggravated murder endangering children and a kidnapping charge in the death of his son Jax Ponomarenko, on 25 March 2021.
'I just killed my son': A chilling 911 call from Matthew J Ponomarenko
According to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, Ponomarenko called 911 and told the dispatcher, “I just killed my son.”
He said he was "hearing voices" and used a baseball bat to beat his son to death in their Parma home.
The dispatcher asked him to stay on the line until the police arrived, but Ponomarenko remained mostly silent and did not answer more questions.
“I’m shaking,” he said at one point. When the police arrived, he said, “They’re here.”
Police find evidence of torture and reckless abuse in the house
The police found Jax’s body in the living room, with signs of “torture” and “reckless abuse,” according to WJW.
Ponomarenko was arrested and charged with aggravated murder, kidnapping, and endangering children.
The Cuyahoga County medical examiner’s office determined Jax died of blunt force impacts to his head and ruled his death a homicide.
He faced the death penalty, if convicted, but prosecutors agreed to drop some charges in exchange for his guilty plea, according to a report. Judge McGinty accepted the plea Thursday, November 9.
Even though Ponomarenko was set for trial in February, an upcoming pretrial date was moved to Thursday, November 9, for “plea and sentencing,” the report cited Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court records.
'I’d like to say I’m sorry': Matthew J Ponomarenko says
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C O’Malley said in a statement according to Cleveland, “Matthew Ponomarenko brutally beat and killed his own son.
"With this sentence, I hope that the family can find a modicum of peace and solace. May Jax’s memory forever live in their hearts,” O’Malley added.
Ponomarenko, 34, who had been held in the Cuyahoga County Jail on a $5 million bond since a grand jury first indicted him in April 2021 also spoke briefly during his sentencing, and in tears, saying, “I’d like to say I’m sorry," WKYC reported.
Previously, a court-appointed psychiatrist found that Ponomarenko suffered from bipolar disorder and that it significantly impaired his mental capacity at the time of the crime.
