A Massachusetts man convicted of beating his 7-year-old son to death in 2009 committed suicide in prison on Friday, according to Boston.com.
Leslie Schuler, 41, took his own life while serving his term in a Walpole prison. In an email statement, prison spokesman Darren Duarte said authorities found Schuler at 4:30 a.m.
"His death does not appear to be suspicious at this time,'' district attorney spokesman David Traub told The Boston Globe.
Earlier this month, Schuler pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison. However, he would have been eligible for parole after serving 15 years.
Authorities say Schuler attacked his son, Nathaniel Turner, on Father's Day five years ago. An autopsy stated the boy died from blunt force trauma to the head, torso, and extremities.
Turner spent two days in the hospital before he was pronounced dead, Boston.com said.
The boy's mother, Alicia Turner, previously expressed her disappointment in the judge's sentencing.
"The Commonwealth dragged my family through four and a half years... to allow Leslie Schuler to account for his own fate," she told the judge. "I'm disgusted with the results."
Christine Richardson, the boy's grandmother, said Schuler should have received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
"Because Nathaniel is the one paying the price..." Richardson said. "He took his life. He took everything. So I beg you to take everything from him."
