WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — A Pennsylvania jury has acquitted a man in the death of his girlfriend’s toddler, which he said occurred as he was mimicking a professional wrestling move.
The all-female Lycoming County panel deliberated for less than two hours Monday before acquitting Brandon Hoffman, 21, of aggravated assault, involuntary manslaughter and related counts. Families of both victim and defendant wept after the verdict.
Authorities said Hoffman was performing a wrestling move at his Jersey Shore apartment in May 2015 when he inadvertently slammed 18-month-old Bryson Shoemaker to the floor, causing fatal head injuries.
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Investigators say Hoffman, who had been looking after Bryson while the boy’s mother was working, was performing a move by The Undertaker known as “The Last Ride” and had intended for Bryson to land on a bed. In the move, depicted in many online videos, the wrestler gets the opponent on his shoulders in a sort of reverse piggyback, then throws him to the ground. Dolls were used for demonstrations in court after the judge barred prosecutors from playing computer-generated videos of the wrestling moves.
Chief county public defender William Miele said after the verdict that “no one wins in this.” His client, who has been jailed for more than a year in lieu of $150,000 bond, was released and had no comment.
“Not every horrific act results in criminal charges,” Miele said in his closing argument. “People play with young children and they play physically.”
The boy’s mother, a prosecution witness, testified that Hoffman had always been careful with her son. “Bryson loved him,” she said.
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Assistant District Attorney Martin Wade, however, called Hoffman’s actions reckless.
“He didn’t mean it to happen — fine,” Wade said. “You can be found guilty of the crime even if you didn’t mean it to happen.”
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