Lakewood Man Pleads Guilty to Murder of 2-Year-Old Boy

Michael Burton, 2120 Robin Ave., sentenced to life in prison without parole for 20 years for killing the toddler he was babysitting.

By Colin McEwen | Lakewood Patch

The Lakewood man who beat to death a 2-year-old boy he was babysitting last year pleaded guilty to murder today in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

As part of the plea agreement, Judge Pamela Barker sentenced Michael Burton, 31, to life in prison for killing Anthony Dabila, 2, who lived with his mother in the apartment across the hall at 2120 Robin Ave.

As part of the agreement, prosecutors dropped 10 of the 11 counts against Burton, including felonious assault and child endangering.

Burton will be eligible for parole in 20 years.

Dabila’s mother, Eboni Pollard, tearfully addressed the court.

“I’m never going to have closure because I will never understand what happened,” she said. “My life since that day will never be the same.

“This has made me feel like a failure as a mother and a failure as a human being because I put my trust in (Burton) to keep my son safe.”

Lakewood Police say that Burton was babysitting Anthony when the toddler was beaten to death in January 2011. When Pollard returned home from work around 9 p.m. she found her son was not breathing and called 911. The boy was taken to Lakewood Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

When it was his turn to address the court, Burton turned to Pollard and quietly apologized. He did not, however, offer any explanation for the beating.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “It doesn’t make it right. It doesn’t make it better.”

Burton’s court-appointed attorneys painted a picture of a mentally unstable man who struggled with depression, bi-polar disorder and substance abuse — and who was physically abused as a boy.

“Perhaps he just snapped,” defense attorney Jack Greene said.

However, prosecutors painted a different picture: Burton so badly beat the boy that night that the blows to his face tore his lip from his jaw.

“He was put into a position of trust, a custodian of that child,” county Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Driscoll said. “And after he killed him, he put a clean diaper on him and tucked him to bed.”

Barker said she decided to give Burton the chance for parole in 20 years to give him an opportunity to rehabilitate himself.

“This is a sad day,” Barker said. “We have a 2-year-old who will never come back to his mother.”

Burton is being held at the Cuyahoga County Jail while he awaits transfer to the Lorain Correctional Institution.