On Nov. 9, 2015, 9-month-old Monte Jones soiled his diaper while his mother was at work. Little Monte had been left in the care of a neighbor, according to investigators.

Monte’s babysitter, Jaquest Deeric Norris, was so angry over the diaper, he beat the infant in the head and all over his body, according to prosecutors. On Friday, Norris was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the Fulton County District Attorney said.

Jaquest Deeric Norris (Credit: Atlanta Police Department)
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“I do not understand why anyone would kill a child,” DA Paul Howard said in an emailed statement. “Particularly, I will NEVER understand why anyone would brutalize a child in this manner. May God have mercy on his soul.”

After the beating, Monte was found unresponsive in a bathtub, according to investigators. He spent two days in the hospital before he was removed from life support. An autopsy determined Monte died from blunt force trauma of the head, skull fractures, rib fractures and leg fractures.

Norris was arrested and charged with murder after the baby’s death and has remained without bond in the Fulton jail. He was convicted of multiple charges, including felony murder, cruelty to children in the first degree, aggravated battery, aggravated assault and aggravated sexual battery.

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Workers, clean up damaged house near Paulding County High School after a storm passed through, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Dallas. National Weather Service teams will be conducting a damage survey in the Paulding County/Dallas area, which sustained “pretty significant” damage from the storms, NWS Senior Meteorologist Dylan Lusk told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sunday morning. (Hyosub Shin / AJC)

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