Matthew Nuttall

A Jamestown man has pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter before his trial in the 2024 death of a child was to begin.

District Attorney Jason Schmidt said Friday that Matthew Nuttall, 27, of Jamestown pleaded guilty Wednesday in Chautauqua County Court. Jury selection on Nuttall’s case was scheduled to begin Tuesday on charges of first- and second-degree manslaughter that had been handed up by a Chautauqua County Grand Jury in June 2024.

At the final pre-trial conference held Wednesday Nuttall unexpectedly pled to the most serious charge on which he was indicted, leading to the trial’s cancellation.

“These are the cases which hit the hardest,” Schmidt said. “Isaac, only 16 months old, slammed onto a Pack ‘n Play with such force that his spinal column came out in pieces during the autopsy. A few days later, Aniyah, only 8 months old, strangled to death with blunt force injuries to the head and neck. Then a few days after that, in Silver Creek during the same month, 12 year old Mya, neglected to the extent that her undiagnosed, untreated diabetes shut down her organs, sent her into a coma and eventually killed her. Each horrific and heart-wrenching. Each senseless and completely avoidable. Each offensive to us as a society whose principle value is to protect the weak, the vulnerable and the innocent. These are the cases which keep all of us up at night for days without end. They scream out for justice. Securing convictions against those who are criminally responsible and punishing those persons to the fullest extent of the law is the only way forward, and I and my trial team are grateful and appreciative to work alongside very capable, dedicated investigators committed to making this happen.”

Nuttall allegedly threw 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. In New York state, first-degree manslaughter is a Class B violent felony, punishable by a determinate sentence of five to 25 years in state prison, followed by post-release supervision. The minimum sentence is five years, while the maximum is 25 years.

“The Jamestown Police Department Investigative Section worked efficiently and effectively to investigate this incident, leading to the arrest of Matthew E. Nuttall for Manslaughter in the 1st Degree,” said Jamestown Police Sergeant Daniel Overend. “We cannot imagine the hurt that the victim’s family is going through and will go through as the sentencing process commences. Justice is neither served by excess nor by leniency that diminishes the seriousness of wrongdoing. When consequences are proportionate, they affirm the rule of law, reinforce community standards, and provide clarity that actions carry appropriate responsibility. We remain committed to advocating for outcomes that reflect these principles, that the sentencing handed down by the court is reflective of the wrongdoing that Nuttall committed and justice is appropriately served. The Jamestown Police Department would like to thank the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office and the Chautauqua County Coroner’s Office for their assistance with the investigation and the successful prosecution of Nuttall for his heinous acts.”

Nuttall will now be sentenced on April 20, the same day on which Sean Thomas of Jamestown is also scheduled to be sentenced. In December, Thomas also pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter just before his jury trial was scheduled to begin, admitting to causing the death of eight-month-old Aniyah Turk, which also occurred in Jamestown in April 2024.

Shortly after the deaths of Isaac Benton and Aniyah Turk, and spurred by a similar case in his home district, Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, D-Schenectady, proposed legislation that would upgrade manslaughter crimes that result in the death of a child to class A-1 felonies. Currently, manslaughter resulting in a child’s death is treated only as a Class B or Class C felony, depending on if it is a first- or second-degree charge, without differentiation from adult deaths. Upgrading the charge to a Class A-1 felony would mean such cases receive the maximum sentence under New York guidelines, Santabarbara said.

Santabarbara said his bill is the result of a Schenectady case in which a 5-year-old girl died from starvation. Her father was charged with second-degree manslaughter, a class C felony, and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. The bill didn’t move out of committee in 2024 and was recently reintroduced as A.3573.

“This bill ensures that those responsible for neglect or abuse leading to the death of a child must face the toughest penalties and full accountability under the law,” Santabarbara wrote.

After Isaac Benton’s death, Schmidt said he hadn’t seen incidents like the ones that took place in April 2024 in Jamestown before in his career.

“What makes this string of tragedies even more difficult to come to terms with is that April was National Child Abuse Prevention Month meant to spotlight the need for increased public awareness of child abuse and neglect,” Schmidt said in June 2024 after Nuttall’s indictment. “In all my years of criminal work, and before then, during my years as a child welfare caseworker in New York City, I have never seen this number of child homicides in such a brief period of time. These are preventable crimes. Before April, if someone would have predicted that Chautauqua County would be afflicted with this many child tragedies in the span of a few weeks, I would have thought it unimaginable. We cannot let this trend continue. Each and every one of us must all be vigilant in looking out for and protecting the safety and well-being of our children. To the public, if you see something which leads you to suspect child abuse or neglect, say something. Report your suspicions by contacting your local police or calling the statewide child abuse hotline at 1-800-342-3720. Anyone who legitimately suspects child abuse or neglect can make a report, and may do so anonymously. There is no excuse for failing to act.”