Cedar Rapids man pleads to throwing, slamming baby who died

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids man pleaded guilty Monday to a child endangerment charge for throwing his 19-day-old son on the floor and slamming his head multiple times because the child wouldn’t stop crying.

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Samuel Elijah Goodwin, 24, originally charged with first-degree murder, pleaded to child endangerment resulting in death. He faces up to 50 years in prison and will have to serve a minimum of 30 to 70 percent of it before being eligible for parole. The judge will decide the minimum at a sentencing hearing set for Feb. 2 in Linn County District Court.

Goodwin, during the plea, admitted to intentional acts or a series of acts of unreasonable force that resulted in the death of his child during the overnight hours of April 3 and 4, 2021, at a Marion home where he lived at the time.

The mother of the child and other family members were in court Monday for the plea hearing.

According to a criminal complaint, Goodwin told Marion police he was the sole caretaker of his son during those overnight hours when the baby wouldn’t stop crying and wouldn’t take a bottle. He said he couldn’t wake up the baby’s mother and he became “flustered and irritated.”

Goodwin first told police he dropped the infant at least two times, the complaint stated. He then admitted to throwing his son into a crib, causing his head to hit the side of it and then the floor. Goodwin slammed the baby’s head twice into the floor.

The father told police he put his baby in a bouncer, covered him, went downstairs and “hoped for the best,” according to the complaint. He also told investigators that he knew he was responsible for the infant’s death.

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Police said attempts to save the baby were unsuccessful. Officers and medical personnel responded about 9:40 a.m. April 4, 2021, at 430 Ninth St. in Marion for a report that an infant was not responsive and not breathing. An autopsy conducted by the state medical examiner stated the infant died from multiple head injuries and the death was determined to be a homicide, according to the complaint.

According to the complaint, Goodwin had moved to Cedar Rapids but at the time of the infant’s death he lived at the Marion address.

The case was suspended last year because the defense argued Goodwin was incompetent to stand trial. He underwent a mental evaluation and was found competent to stand trial. He had planned to claim insanity or diminished capacity at his trial, which was set for later this month before a plea was reached.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Jason Besler, during the plea, also told Goodwin he will be ordered at sentencing to pay to $150,000 in restitution to the victim’s estate or heirs in accordance with Iowa law.

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