Joseph Trujillo gets twelve years in case of child who died alone while he was out drinking

Large photo below.

In January, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office announced that Joseph Trujillo faced a first-degree murder charge in the death of his five-month old, who died alone while he was out drinking. A week later, the charge against Trujillo was lessened to child abuse resulting in death, to which he pleaded guilty. Now, he's reportedly been sentenced to twelve years in jail.

Look below to see a larger booking photo of Trujillo, as well as January releases from the Sheriff's Office and the Jefferson County Attorney's Office:

Joseph Trujillo.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office release, January 21:

Five-month-old baby dies while left all alone

Father charged with first degree murder

Jefferson County, CO -- On January 21, 2010, at about 12:30 a.m., Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies and medical personnel responded to the16000 block of W. 10th Ave. in reference to an unresponsive five-month-old baby boy.

The baby's grandmother called 911 after waking up to the sounds of her son, Joseph Trujillo (dob 04-07-86), crying. She found Trujillo holding the unresponsive baby who was subsequently declared dead at the scene by medical personnel. Trujillo is the baby's father, and they share an apartment with the grandmother.

A team of Jefferson County investigators worked diligently through the night interviewing Trujillo, the grandmother, and numerous other witnesses. Through their work it was discovered that Trujillo had left the baby alone in the apartment for between six and seven hours while he went to a local bar and drank.

Trujillo was booked into the Jefferson County Jail where he is being held without bond on the charge of first degree murder.

An autopsy of the baby is pending to determine cause and manner of death.

Anyone with information about this crime is urged to contact the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office tip line at 303-271-5612.

Followup release from the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office, January 22:

To clarify:

Mr. Joseph Trujillo was arrested yesterday after police were called to his house and found his 4-month-old son non-responsive. The baby had died.

Trujillo has not yet been charged with a crime. He was arrested for murder based on what investigators knew at the time. You could also say that he is being held on murder charges, but he has not been charged with anything.

He had his first appearance in court today; he was advised of his rights. His next court appearance is 1/28 at 10:00. This is his return for filing of charges. We have until then to file charges.

The Sheriff's Office asked to have the arrest affidavit sealed so there is no additional information about the investigation available at this time.