Orange County Man Who Murdered Girlfriend's 3-Year-Old Boy Gets 25-To-Life

TOWN OF WALLKILL, NY — An Orange County man who murdered an innocent child could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that 26-year-old Gionni Sellers, of Middletown, was sentenced on Tuesday to 25 years to life in prison after having been convicted by a jury of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter.

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• 'Guilty': Murderer Of 3-Year-Old Boy Convicted By Jury In Orange County: DA
• Middletown Man Charged With Murder Of 3-Year-Old

Prosecutors say the jury unanimously concluded, after less than an hour, that Sellers "had recklessly engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death to the child, under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life, and thereby caused the death of the child."

According to prosecutors, between May 2022 and June 2022, Sellers was responsible for watching Xavier Johnson, the three-year-old son of his girlfriend.

In June, police responded to the home and found the child unresponsive and not breathing. Despite the efforts of first responders, the child was pronounced dead upon arriving at the hospital.

An investigation determined that in the days leading up to the child's death, Sellers inflicted blunt force trauma to the child's head and torso. Police say the "devastating injuries caused grievous harm throughout the child's body, including severe trauma to the child's brain, which ultimately caused his death."

Investigators say a review of Sellers's phone found internet searches including "why do younger men want to hurt baby" and "baby breathing heavy after being shook."

"This defendant's proven depraved and wicked conduct deserved nothing short of the maximum sentence permitted by law," DA Hoovler said. "We worked together with our law enforcement partners to give voice to the voiceless. While the verdict and sentence cannot return what the defendant has taken from our community, I hope that it will offer a degree of closure to the friends and family of the victim. I commend the dedication of the police and prosecutors responsible for holding this defendant accountable for his unspeakable crimes."

Hoovler thanked the law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation which led to the arrest and conviction of Sellers.

The investigation was conducted by the Town of Wallkill Police Department, with assistance from the New York State Police, the Hudson Valley Crime Analysis Center, and the Orange County District Attorney's Office. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant DA Tanja Beemer and Assistant DA Peter Fernandez.