Associated Press
TACOMA — A Lakewood man accused of beating his 4-year-old stepdaughter and then watching pro wrestling on TV while she had convulsions has entered a modified guilty plea to second-degree murder.
Michael Lee Aaron Bishop, 33, entered an Alford plea in the death of Diamond LaTour. Such a plea means the defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges the evidence would convict him if he went to trial.
Bishop, an unemployed wedding planner, initially was charged with the more serious crime of homicide by abuse.
Deputy prosecutor Barbara Corey-Boulet said she reduced the charge in exchange for the guilty plea because there wasn’t enough evidence to prove a history of abuse. Such a history is necessary to obtain a conviction for homicide by abuse.
"I think it’s a just resolution of the case," she said.
The standard sentencing range for Bishop, given his criminal history, is 14 years and seven months to 22 years and 11 months. Sentencing is scheduled for January.
Bishop’s record includes convictions for forgery, larceny, robbery with a deadly weapon and either an attempted or an actual escape in another state, Corey-Boulet has said.
Bishop initially told investigators the family dog had caused Diamond’s injuries, but he eventually admitted he had shaken and beat the child after she became defiant and pouty.
Charlotte LaTour took her daughter to the hospital July 30 after she returned to the Lakewood home from work at a senior-care center.
The child died the next day of blunt head trauma, according to the medical examiner’s report.
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