PARMA, Ohio — A 43-year-old Parma man will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after he pleaded guilty to kidnapping and killing his 1-year-old son, who he had temporary visitation with at the time, and was later found inside the trunk of his vehicle, according to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.
Jason Shorter, 43, of Parma, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and kidnapping.
On May 12, 2018, Shorter left his Parma apartment near Regency Drive with his son, who he had temporary visitation with at the time. Later that same evening, he was required to drop his son off at his mother’s residence in Euclid.
Two hours later of leaving his apartment, Shorter walked into the lobby of the Parma Police Department and said he wanted to turn himself in for murder and attempted suicide. At the time, police said Shorter was bleeding from self-inflicted wounds to his wrists and chest. He also admitted that his son was injured in the trunk of his car.
Shorter was arrested and his son was found with two stab wounds to his chest. Officers administered life-saving measures until EMS arrived and transported him to a nearby hospital, where he died.
Police later learned Shorter killed his son in the back of his car in the parking lot of his apartment complex. The murder weapon was recovered from the vehicle. DNA evidence, surveillance video and phone records matched his confession.
“This individual murdered his son to punish his child’s mother. There is no crueler form of abuse,” said Prosecutor Mike O’Malley in a news release. “He has earned every day of his Life sentence.”
He was sentenced to life in prison with a possibility of parole after serving 41 years in prison.
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