HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 09-15 Maplewood man pleads guilty in fatal beating of toddler STAR TRIBUNE - StarTribune.com
Maplewood man pleads guilty in fatal beating of toddler
EAST METRO
Maplewood man pleads guilty in fatal
beating of toddler
SEPTEMBER 15,2015-11:27PM
A Maplewood man pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree murder in the February
beating death of an 18-month-old girl.
Leb Mike Meak,35,said at a Ramsey County District Court hearing that he punched,
squeezed and threw his girlfriend's daughter after the child upset hirn when she made a
mess one night at his home.
"I disciplined her,"Meak said quietly as he answered questions from his attorney and
prosecutors.
According to the criminal complaint,police were called to Meak's home in the 2500
block of Barclay Street in Maplewood on the morning of Feb.12 and found the girl,
identified by her family as Genesis Xiong,unresponsive.As authorities tried to revive
her,they noticed a large number of bruises on her chest,stomach and face.Meak said he
had been watching the toddler for his girlfriend.
Meak told the court Tuesday that the beating occurred after Genesis threw CDs off a
shelf in his living room.He said he grabbed her by the chest and squeezed with both
hands"pretty hard"and threw her,causing her head to hit a wall.He also said he hit her
in the stomach several times with a closed fist.
Meak said that he did not mean to kill the girl,but he agreed that he had used
unreasonable force.
Meak,who is not a U.S.citizen,likely would face deportation after serving his sentence.
Prosecutors—who assert that the toddler was beaten over a long period of time—are
seeking a sentence longer than what state sentencing guidelines call for.
i
Nicole Norfleet