Brandon Walker, 42, will spend the rest of his life in prison for the 2022 murder of his eight-year-old son Navin Jones.
Jones died from severe malnutrition and abuse. He weighed just 30 pounds when he died, and had ligature marks on his wrists and waists where he was tied up. The boy's bedroom door was tied shut with a rope, and a sign was posted saying not to feed or let him out.
The case has been highlighted as one in a broader series of failures by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to remove children from dangerous situations.
Walker was sentenced Wednesday. A Peoria County jury took just 45 minutes to find him guilty in December of murdering Navin in a "brutal and heinous manner." Throughout the trial, Walker blamed Navin's mother, Stephanie Jones, for the boy's mistreatment.
Texts between Stephanie Jones and Walker were presented by the prosecution as proof of Walker's knowledge of his son's treatment.
Peoria County Circuit Court Judge John Vespa called the case the worst of his career on the bench.
Stephanie Jones faces sentencing on murder charges in April after pleading guilty last year. She won't face a natural life sentence as part of a plea deal, but could see up to 100 years in prison.
