Sean Thomas

A Jamestown man has pleaded guilty in the death of an infant.

District Attorney Jason Schmidt announced Monday that 28-year-old Sean Thomas pleaded guilty last month in Chautauqua County Court to first-degree manslaughter in connection to the death of 8 month old Aniyah Turk that occurred in April 2024.

Thomas faces up to 25 years in prison and, according to Scmidt, will likely receive 20 years 5 years of post-release supervision at sentencing. The sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 23 at 9:30 a.m.

Schmidt would like to thank the Jamestown Police Department for their hard work on this case and said more details will be shared after Thomas’ sentencing.

The Jamestown Police Department added that their Detective Bureau and patrol officers worked efficiently and effectively to investigate this incident, which ultimately led to the arrest of Thomas.

Sgt. Daniel Overend with the Jamestown Police Department stated, “The choices that he [Thomas] made is a reminder that evil that can exist in our community. We cannot imagine the hurt that the victim’s family felt and is currently feeling regarding Mr. Thomas’ actions. Atrocities such as this have a major effect on all of the officers and investigators involved. We pray that the victim’s family will find some peace knowing that Mr. Thomas will spend a significant amount of his life incarcerated and our community is protected from him. The Jamestown Police Department would like to thank the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance with the investigation and the successful prosecution of Mr. Thomas for his heinous acts.”

In an earlier interview, Schmidt stated that Thomas intentionally strangled and shook Aniyah on April 22, 2024 and earlier, which caused catastrophic and unrecoverable injuries requiring her hospitalization on life support until she eventually succumbed to her injuries weeks later.

With Thomas’ guilty plea, there are two 2024 child deaths that are still being prosecuted.

On April 13, of that year Matthew E. Nuttall, who was 26 at the time of his arrest, allegedly caused the death of 16-month-old Isaac Benton by blunt force trauma.

The Jamestown resident is accused of throwing the child into a Pack-and-Play portable crib because he was frustrated the baby wouldn’t stop crying. The child’s spinal cord was severed, which caused the child’s death.

He has been indicted on first- and second-degree manslaughter charges.

Also Ashley Bertino’s 12-year-old daughter Mya Smith died April 29, 2024 from diabetic ketoacidosis, commonly referred to as untreated diabetes.

Prosecutors believe Mya’s life could have been spared if she was given basic medical care. They accuse Bertino, 37, of Silver Creek, of having a “depraved indifference to human life.”

She was initially charged with second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. She has two other children as well.

Her attorney from the Chautauqua County Public Defender’s Office challenged the second-degree murder charge and had it dismissed by county Court Judge David Foley.

Schmidt is currently appealing that ruling.