A 21-year-old Nebraska woman convicted of killing a 5-year-old boy in her care has been sentenced to decades in prison.
A Douglas County District Court judge sentenced Antonea Cannon to 70 to 72 years for intentional child abuse resulting in death. She had pleaded no contest to the charge in February.
According to reports, Cannon told police she left Jaylen Hearnes in the care of her 12-year-old sister at her home at 73rd and Wirt Circle in Omaha while she went to work in March of 2022. Police add Cannon claimed the biological mother of Hearnes asked if she could pick up the boy and take him to lunch, to which she agreed and told her sister about the plan. The biological mother then picked up Hearnes and had him for an unknown amount of time, then dropped him off back at the home.
Police say Cannon claims she returned from work to pick up Hearnes, then took him while she picked up her two other children at daycare. Cannon then saw Hearnes was unresponsive and took him to the hospital.
However, police say the story doesn’t line up.
While Cannon was interviewed by police, her 12-year-old sister was located and interviewed at Project Harmony.
The 12-year-old told police she was not at home on the date of the incident and did not babysit the victim. She says the last time she saw Hearnes alive was the day before.
Another sister of Cannon’s confirmed what the 12-year-old sister said.
Several injuries were observed on Hearnes’ body. Police say it was consistent with severe child abuse.
Search warrants on both addresses were executed. Police say blood and blood splatter were observed at the Manderson address, and a “striking instrument” was also found that was splintered and had possible blood spots.
Cannon told police she was the sole caretaker of Hearnes. Her children were removed from her care and made state wards.
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