JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man convicted of first-degree murder for beating his 4-year-old daughter to death with a piece of lumber was sentenced Thursday to life in prison, plus another 30 years for aggravated child abuse.
At trial, prosecutors said John Norfleet, 32, struck the victim, Jada, with 1-by-2 piece of lumber in February 2015 because she wouldn't eat all her dinner. They said she was struck 20 times on her arms, buttocks and legs until she became lethargic and went into cardiac arrest.
Norfleet's attorney called no witnesses at the sentencing hearing but told Circuit Judge Russell Healey that he had never been arrested, and his friends across the country had sent him well-wishes.
The jury also found Norfleet guilty of aggravated manslaughter, but the state said he could not be convicted of both manslaughter and murder of the same victim, so Healey set aside the manslaughter charge, then sentenced Norfleet to the maximum allowed under Florida law on the two other charges.
"The red flags were everywhere," Healey said. "The bruising on that child from the waist down was the most horrendous thing, I’m telling you, I’ve ever seen in my life."
A separate jury found Norfleet's wife, Sharon, not guilty of murder but convicted her of aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse. Prosecutors said Shavonn Norfleet, 34, not only ignored the little girl's abuse but assisted in and condoned it.
Before her sentencing, Shavonn Norfleet apologized for her daughters' death, calling what happened to her inexcusable.
"I believe in a moment of shock, my mind and emotions went into overload and I was left not knowing what to do or what to say," she told Healey. So please forgive me for not protecting Jada or thinking quick in the moment or making the right decisions. The truth is, I did not see clearly what was happening right before my eyes."
Healy sentenced her to 30 years on each charge to be served consecutively -- a total of 60 years.