Man Who Shook Baby To Death Faces 30 Years In Bucks Prison

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —A Bristol Borough man was sentenced on Tuesday to up three decades in a state correctional institution for shaking his 4-month-old son to death, authorities said.

Tyler Sullivan, 31, pleaded guilty in May to third-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child before Common Pleas Judge Gary B. Gilman.

In addition to sentencing Sullivan to 15-30 years in prison, Gilman ordered him to undergo mental health treatment, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said.

The baby’s mother and the baby’s aunt both submitted victim impact statements that were read during Tuesday’s hearing.

The mother said she was too traumatized and was never able to go back to the apartment she shared with Sullivan and their child. She said she continues to have nightmares about that day.

“My baby deserved to live a long, happy, wonderful life,” she said.

The baby’s aunt, in her victim impact statement, said the baby’s killing left a “hole in our hearts that can never be filled. We will miss him forever.”

Officers with the Bristol Borough Police Department were dispatched at 11:35 p.m. on May 24, 2023, to 1038 Radcliffe St. for a 4-month-old child in cardiac arrest.

When officers arrived, the baby was not breathing and was cold to the touch. Police officers administered CPR, and the baby was transported to Lower Bucks Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 12:01 a.m.

A doctor examined the baby, noting the baby suffered several injuries, including contusions, bruising, and abrasions throughout his body. The doctor noted that the injuries were indicative of a battered child.

The doctor also said the baby was already deceased when he arrived at the hospital.

The investigation concluded that Sullivan violently shook the baby on at least two occasions on May 24, 2023, and at least six additional times in the six weeks prior.

Before being sentenced, Sullivan gave a lengthy, tearful statement, admitting “how guilty and ashamed I am.”

This case was investigated by Detectives with the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and the Bristol Borough Police Department and was prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Matthew Lannetti and Assistant District Attorney David O’Beirne.