Father Of Bucks County Boy Who Shot Himself Headed To Jail

The father of a 2-year-old Bucks County boy who died of a gunshot wound in September has been sentenced to jail.

Benjamin Austin Smith, 2, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest on Sept. 12 at his home in Milford Township. His father, 27-year-old Nicholas Wyllie, on Monday pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter, recklessly endangering another person, and endangering the welfare of a child.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports he was sentenced to up to two years in county jail. Wyllie told the judge he is heartbroken over the loss of his son. "That was my boy,” Wyllie reportedly told the judge, according to the Inquirer.

The Bucks County District Attorney's office said state police were dispatched around 11 a.m. that morning to a home on Kumry Road for a report that a child had sustained a gunshot wound.

According to a probable cause affidavit, when troopers arrived, they found emergency medical services workers tending to Benjamin in the kitchen. He had suffered a single gunshot wound to the chest. He was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital in Quakertown, where he was pronounced dead at 11:40 a.m.

The shooting happened at the child's grandparents' home, where Wylie and his son lived, the District Attorney said.

According to information provided by the District Attorney's office, Wyllie told police that he and Benjamin had been watching television in the living room when the child decided he was going to his room to watch Winnie the Pooh. About five minutes later, Wyllie told police he heard a loud bang and ran to his bedroom, where he found the boy lying on the floor, bleeding.

Investigators say the toddler found an unlocked, .45 caliber handgun, loaded with hollow-point ammunition, unsecured in his father’s bedroom, and accidentally shot himself with it.

According to the affidavit, family members say the young boy "loved" guns. His mother, Courtney Hotaling, provided police with photographs of Benjamin holding toy guns, the District Attorney said. The couple, who did not live together, taught the boy how to use a two-handed grip when holding a toy pistol, according to information from the District Attorney's office.

The boy's grandfather had previously advised Wyllie to secure his guns because of the boy's interest in them, the District Attorney said.