DuPont father sentenced to 70 years in baby daughter's beating death



TACOMA – Dwayne Patrick Cowart, 32, of DuPont, was sentenced Friday to 70 years in prison for beating his 2-month-old daughter to death in 2014.

In December, a jury convicted Cowart of murder in the second degree.

On March 24, 2014, the baby's mother went to work and left the infant in Cowart’s care. Later that day, Cowart called the mother and told her to come home because the girl was not breathing and was bleeding from her nose and mouth. He said he had already called 911.

Medics rushed the baby to the hospital. According to doctors, the victim suffered skull, rib, arm and leg fractures. The infant died from her injuries approximately three weeks later.

Cowart told detectives he became irritated while caring for his daughter, but that he didn’t mean to hurt her.