NORFOLK -- A Norfolk man will spend 21 years behind bars for beating two young children.
Last September, Walter Z. Speller III pleaded guilty to aggravated malicious wounding for beating his 8-month-old son and his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter.
At trial, prosecutors said both children were brain damaged from the beatings and that the boy couldn't walk or talk, the Virginian-Pilot reported.
Commonwealth's Attorney spokeswoman Amanda Howie says the judge sentenced him to 50 years with 29 suspended, resulting in a 21-year sentence.
Speller had been convicted of child abuse in Va. Beach in 2002 for injuring his 14-month old son. The boy suffered brain damage and ended up in a wheelchair.
