Kings Park Man Found Guilty of Beating Infant Son to Death

A Suffolk County jury has convicted a 32-year-old Kings Park man of first-degree manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child in the beating death of his 43-day-old son in 2011, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said Friday.

Christopher Foster was found not guilty of second-degree murder. The trial before State Supreme Court Justice William Condon in Riverhead started on June 22.

The charge of first-degree manslaughter in the indictment is a class “B” felony defined as when a defendant, being 18 years old or more, “with intent to cause physical injury to a person less than 11 years old “recklessly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of serious physical injury …and thereby causes the death of such a person.”

An autopsy established the infant, Jonathan Hertzler, suffered a fractured skull, four broken ribs and bruises to his face, Spota said.

The Suffolk County chief medical examiner testified that there was evidence the boy suffered bruises that were inflicted before the night of his death on Oct. 11, 2011 and that the fatal injuries were caused by multiple blows, Spota said.

The baby’s mother, Clarissa Hertzler, testified the baby was a source of constant aggravation to Foster and that he often became angry when the infant cried, Spota said.

Assistant District Attorney Dana Brown told the jury that on the night of the baby’s death, Foster was the last person to hold his son and that Foster called his boss, but not 911, to report the baby wasn’t breathing.

Foster was remanded to the county jail and faces up to 25 years in state prison when he is sentenced on Sept. 8.