Visalia man who killed his girlfriend's 3-year-old son sentenced to state prison
VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- On Wednesday night, James Horton's six-year-old daughter lost her first tooth.
Horton says her brother Jimmy should have been there for the milestone occasion. But Jimmy, he says, did not even get the chance to lose his own first tooth.
"He should be excited about the presents under the tree," Horton told Trevor Bishop. "But there aren't any, because he's dead, in the ground, while you sit here and breathe the same air that I do and it makes me sick."
On Thursday, Bishop was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
This Spring, a jury convicted him of severely beating Jimmy, his girlfriend's son, while taking care of him one day in March of 2013.
One year later, Jimmy died of brain injuries at the age of four. His mother Desie Horton was also convicted of misdemeanor child abuse for failing to protect her son.
Brenda Broker prosecuted both cases.
She says Bishop, who has never shown any remorse, is finally on his way to prison, where he belongs.
"He had the narcissistic traits and I could see that when he took the (witness) stand because when that man took the stand, it was about him, and nobody else," Broker said. "It wasn't about Jimmy. He always had an answer for everything and always blamed somebody else."
Broker knows the court process has been painstakingly long for Jimmy's family.
The case began more than four years ago, and Bishop's sentencing was delayed multiple times.
But James Horton appreciates her hard work.
He says he cannot express how much he misses his little fishing buddy and dreams of him often.
He wants everyone to know that his son died because his ex-wife let a bad man into their son's life.
"It can happen and you really gotta watch who's around your children," Horton said. "Whether it be a friend, a family member, or a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, those things are going to happen. And don't be afraid to be alone. You're not alone, you have your children and you need to put them first."
