Former Marine Dad Blames Son's Beating Death on PTSD

ROCKVILLE, MD — A Damascus father and former Marine who said he never formed a bond with his adopted 3-year-old son, whom he beat to death, has been sentenced to serve 12 years in prison.

Brian O’Callaghan, who served in Iraq, was indicted in March 2014 on charges of first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse resulting in the death of his son, Hyunsu. In November he pleaded guilty to abuse and the murder charge was dropped.

A judge on Tuesday sentenced O’Callaghan to 20 years in prison for the boy’s death, with eight years suspended and he will receive credit for the 2.5 years he has served awaiting trial and sentencing, WTOP reports.

Montgomery County prosecutors dropped a first-degree murder charge against O’Callaghan – which carries a life sentence -- as part of a plea deal.

O’Callaghan had worked for the National Security Agency.

During the sentencing hearing, O’Callaghan’s former colleagues said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues from his military service in Iraq. Prosecutors said O'Callaghan never mentioned his mental health problems during the adoption process, and stopped taking medication so the adoption would be finalized.

Investigators were called to Children’s National Medical Center in Washington on Feb. 2, 2014, and told the boy’s injuries, including trauma to the brain, indicated he had been beaten, WJLA reported. The child died the next day and police say an autopsy determined the manner of death was homicide by multiple blunt impact injuries.

Hyunsu had skull fractures, bleeding in his brain and hemorrhaging in his eyes when he arrived at the hospital and doctors were concerned that he was “brain dead,” WTOP reports.

O’Callaghan told police that his son slipped in the shower. But investigators say a typical child’s fall would not have caused Hyunsu’s fatal injuries.

Brian O’Callaghan and his wife, Jennifer, adopted Hyunsu from Korea three months before the boy’s death.