Last week Dwayne Patrick Cowart, 32, was sentenced to 840 months in prison for beating his 2-month-old daughter to death in 2014 at his home in DuPont. In December, a jury convicted Cowart of murder in the second degree.

“Nothing is more important than protecting our children,” said Prosecutor Mark Lindquist. “As a father, I was saddened and sickened by this horrific and inexplicable crime.”

On March 24, 2014, the victim’s mother went to work and left the infant in Cowart’s care. Later that day, Cowart called the mother and told her to come home because the girl was not breathing and was bleeding from her nose and mouth. He said he already called 911.

First responders arrived at the home and transported the victim to the hospital. According to doctors, the victim suffered skull, rib, arm and leg fractures. The infant died from her injuries approximately three weeks later.

Cowart told detectives he became irritated while caring for his daughter, but that he didn’t mean to hurt her.