Man Sentenced in Death of Toddler : Crime: Judge denies probation for Brian Laudenback, who had been found guilty of fatally beating his former girlfriend’s son last year.

A 33-year-old Newport Beach house painter was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in prison in the fatal beating of his former girlfriend’s toddler.

Brian Laudenback was convicted last month of second-degree murder in connection with the March, 1994, death of 22-month-old Tyler Jaeger. Jaeger suffered broken bones and internal injuries so severe that they were compared to those caused by car crashes.

Orange County Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan denied Laudenback’s bid to be released on probation and said the serious nature of the crime made him ineligible. Ryan also ordered Laudenback to pay $5,000 in restitution to the mother.

The only surprise Friday came when Laudenback, who did not testify during the trial, admitted during the sentencing that, during an alcoholic relapse, he had injured Tyler two days before the death by striking the boy with his knee. He also acknowledged spanking the boy hard the next day but insisted he did not strike the child on the day of Tyler’s death.

Laudenback’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Sharon Petrosino, argued during the trial that the child died as a result of head injuries suffered during a fall a week earlier. Petrosino said Laudenback might have caused the internal injuries by incorrectly applying cardiopulmonary resuscitation when Tyler went unconscious before dying.

“It was not an intentional act,” Laudenback said Friday, turning to address Tyler’s relatives seated in the courtroom. “I did not mean to do that. I swear.”

Laudenback said a futile battle with drug and alcohol dependency left him unable to care for the child and afraid to tell Tyler’s mother, Karey Jaeger, that he could not take care of the child.

“I was incapable of taking care of Tyler because I was incapable of taking care of myself,” he said. Laudenback said he steered his life on course in jail and vowed to educate against child abuse.

But when Laudenback turned to face the audience again, Tyler’s grandfather, Donald Jaeger, stormed angrily out of the courtroom, cursing loudly at Laudenback.

Karey Jaeger and other family members called Laudenback a “coward” and “monster” whose lying ways and affinity for children made him a special menace to society. They disputed his account of an alcoholic relapse, a description of which did not come up in trial but was laid out by Laudenback in a pre-sentencing report prepared by the Probation Department.

“He is a violent savage who must be kept locked away to protect other innocent children and their trusting mothers,” said Karey Jaeger, a 30-year-old special-education teacher.

Karey Jaeger, who has become an advocate of tougher sentencing for those guilty of fatal child abuse, called her son a happy and loving child and lamented not being at home when the boy was fatally injured.

“As a mother, you want to fix things and comfort your child when they are scared or get hurt. That privilege was taken away from me forever,” Karey Jaeger told the court. “I pray that Tyler knows that had I known that he was being hurt, I would have moved heaven and earth to keep him from danger.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. David Brent played a three-minute home video of Tyler, including scenes from the boy’s first birthday party and Halloween. The noises of celebration from the television moved some of Tyler’s relatives to weep.

The trial featured testimony and photographs of the child’s extensive injuries. One juror was so disturbed by what he heard during the prosecution’s opening statement that he was excused from the panel.

Laudenback, who was between jobs at the time of the beating, was baby-sitting while Tyler stayed home from day care with a contagious eye illness. In the first week, the boy was taken to the hospital with a skull fracture. Laudenback said the child had fallen from a picnic table.

A week later, Tyler was taken to the hospital, dead. He had broken ribs, cuts to the face and head, and severe injuries to the liver and pancreas.

Laudenback revealed kicking the child when interviewed recently for the sentencing report. He said he had started drinking and using drugs again and struck the boy in the stomach with his knee because the child was throwing a tantrum.

“There were three to five seconds of what I did that were not Brian Laudenback,” he is quoted as saying.