Ellsworth airman gets 18-year sentence in killing of his 6-month-old son The Associated Press (Creatas/iStock) RAPID CITY, S.D. A senior airman at Ellsworth Air Force Base has been sentenced to 18 years in federal military prison, after he was convicted of killing his 6-month-old son. A military jury found 27-year-old James Cunningham guilty of murder Thursday in the March 2020 death of his son, Zachariah, following a four-day trial at the Air Force base. A judge then sentenced him to prison later Thursday night. As part of his sentence, Cunningham’s rank was reduced to the lowest rank for an airman and he must forfeit pay and will be dishonorably discharged.
Ellsworth airman on trial for infant son’s death The Associated Press (Getty Images) RAPID CITY, S.D. A military jury will decide whether a senior airman at Ellsworth Air Force Base is responsible for the death of his 6-month-old son. Prosecutors said James Cunningham inflicted the injuries by shaking and punching Zachariah in March of last year. Capt. Anna Sturges, during opening statements Thursday, said Cunningham, when he spoke to detectives, told four different versions of what happened to his son.
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March 8, 2020 Sturges says a doctor will testify that the autopsy shows Zachariah didn’t just have a brain bleed from blunt-force trauma but also suffered from eye and spinal injuries after being shaken.