MARQUETTE, Mich. – A 37-year-old man from the Upper Peninsula has been sentenced for the murder of his 19-month-old son.
According to authorities, Eugene Walter-George Rantanen, a resident of L’Anse, was caring for his son Carter in February 2024 when he called 911, reporting that Carter had stopped breathing. Despite medical efforts at three hospitals, Carter died five days later from blunt-force trauma to the head.
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Medical experts confirmed the injuries were caused by abusive assault.
Carter’s mother had arranged for him to be adopted, but Rantanen allegedly insisted on having custody. Authorities said he subjected his son to “months of abuse and neglect.”
Rantanen was found guilty in court of first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse and was sentenced to life in prison.
U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney said a life sentence was appropriate given Rantanen’s “horrendous treatment” of his young son.