CLEVELAND — A jury on Wednesday found a Westlake man guilty of killing his 13-week-old son by shoving a baby wipe down the infant's throat nearly two years ago.
Traveon Hughes, 20, was convicted of murder, involuntary manslaughter, and child endangering for the 2022 death of Traveon Jr. He had initially claimed his son's death was an accident, but investigators determined that was a lie, and the jury ultimately agreed.
Back on June 25, 2022, prosecutors say Hughes Sr. called police in Cleveland to report his son was choking. Traveon Jr. eventually died at MetroHealth Medical Center, and as is the case with all infant deaths, homicide detectives were assigned to look into the matter.
Hughes Sr., who was 18 at the time, told authorities he had placed a wipe on the baby's chest instead of a bib while his son lay in the crib before briefly leaving the room. When he returned, he stated he discovered Traveon Jr. choking on the wipe, telling officials his son had put the object in his mouth himself.
However, police and health experts discerned Traveon Jr. was too young to have put the wipe in his own mouth. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death to be a homicide due to asphyxia by choking, and Hughes Jr. was arrested less than a week after the incident.
"The State of Ohio believes that baby Traveon Hughes's death was an intentional homicide," Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O'Malley said in a statement following the verdict. "A jury composed of citizens from our county agreed."
Hughes Sr. is scheduled to be sentenced at 10:30 a.m. Friday by Judge William T. McGinty. He faces up to life in prison.