Milwaukee man pleads guilty to fatally punching son over cheesecake

MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee man who fatally punched his 5-year-old son over a piece of cheesecake has accepted a plea deal.

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Travis Stackhouse, 30, agreed to plead guilty to second-degree reckless homicide, child abuse and child neglect, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported. Stackhouse agreed after two days of testimony from prosecution witnesses.

Stackhouse had been on trial for first-degree murder in the June 21, 2019, death of his son, Sir Amer Stackhouse, the newspaper reported. He faces up to 37 years in prison at his sentencing on June 29.

Prosecutors said Travis Stackhouse was angry because his children were eating cheesecake he had received as a Father’s Day gift earlier in the week, the Journal-Sentinel reported. He added that he had only eaten one piece of the dessert.

After punching the boy in the stomach, Stackhouse said he used the back of his hand to hit both sides of the 5-year-old’s face, WDJT reported.

Stackhouse admitted the back of his hand was heavier than usual because it contained metal under the skin from surgery, the Journal-Sentinel reported. Stackhouse added that he left the house and went to a bar with friends, returning at about 2 a.m. His girlfriend, who is the mother of the child,then called 911.

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the child suffered a ruptured stomach, bruised kidneys and a torn adrenal gland. He died from blunt force trauma to the abdomen.

After prosecutors introduced Stackhouse’s recorded confession, Deputy District Attorney Matthew Torbenson said the defendant asked to speak with his mother, who had been watching the trial, the Journal-Sentinel reported. He then agreed to plead guilty to the reduced charge.

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