Mt. Lebanon man sentenced to up to 42 years in baby daughter's death
A 31-year-old Mt. Lebanon man was sentenced Wednesday to 21 to 42 years in prison for the 2017 death of his 4-month-old daughter.
Allegheny County Judge Randal Todd previously found Joseph Gazzam guilty of third degree murder and Gazzam pleaded guilty to one count of recklessly endangering another person and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the death of the baby in November 2017.
Gazzam initially told police the baby fell out of bed while the two were napping, but investigators found the injuries the baby suffered weren’t consistent with that story. Gazzam ultimately admitted that he became angry at his daughter because she was fussing, and he punched her with a closed fist, resulting in the injuries that led to her death, according to Allegheny County police.
Todd also ordered Gazzam to serve eight years of probation upon release.
Tom Davidson is a TribLive news editor. He has been a journalist in Western Pennsylvania for more than 25 years. He can be reached at tdavidson@triblive.com.
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