Father sentenced to 14 years in death of 6-month-old

DECATUR (MCT) — Jeffrey M. Sollman was sentenced to 14 years in prison for shaking and punching his 6-month-old son, Caden, to death, after he agreed to accept the maximum sentence for involuntary manslaughter.

Sollman, 41, was charged with first-degree murder, carrying a maximum prison term of 100 years, but was convicted of the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter by a jury Dec. 15.

Although Sollman's agreement blunted the possible impact of statements by family members on the judge's sentencing decision, Circuit Judge Thomas E. Griffith was visibly moved by statements delivered by Caden's grandparents during the sentencing hearing Thursday afternoon. His eyes were closed at one point and his face appeared to be painfully contorted.

"I couldn't possibly imagine anyone passing less than the maximum sentence in this case," said Griffith, before sentencing Sollman to 14 years, plus two years of supervised release.

He will receive credit for serving almost two years, 11 months in jail since the day he killed Caden, on March 4, 2009.

Leslie Rhoades, Laura Sollman's mother, struggled to contain her emotions as she told the court that Laura initially reacted to the news of her baby's death at the hands of her husband by withdrawing into herself and avoiding any place where a baby might be.

"She couldn't be in the same room as a baby," Rhoades said. "She couldn't attend baby showers, church or stores with baby departments. It was painful to hear her friends talk about their babies. All of this from a girl who loved babies. Having Caden was the single greatest joy of her life."

During the weeks following Caden's death, Laura, then 29, frequently had nightmares.

"She would wake at night screaming, beating on the walls and crying out for me and my husband," Leslie Rhoades said, while standing at the prosecutor's table, facing the judge.

The Rhoades family is also reeling from Laura Sollman's recent death.

Laura Sollman, a second-grade teacher at Enterprise Grade School, was diagnosed with leukemia in July and died Jan. 7. She would have celebrated her 32nd birthday Wednesday.

William Rhoades III told the court that he was disappointed that his daughter was unable to fulfill her childhood dream of raising children in a loving environment, something she had written about when she was a second-grader.