Bristol father sentenced in shaking death of baby son. What he told the court

A tearful Bristol man admitted in court Tuesday that he killed his infant son, who he loved “with every fiber of my being.”

Tyler Sullivan, 31, apologized to the mother of his four-month-old son, Timothy, and told the court he never intended to hurt him, but he was not able to properly care for him.

“I’d spend an eternity in jail if it would bring my son back,” Sullivan said, his voice choking with emotion. “I know everyone hates me, but no one hates me more than I hate myself.”

Bucks County Common Pleas Gary Gilman said he believed Sullivan is sincerely remorseful for his actions, but told him that he needs to stop feeling sorry for himself, and get the mental health treatment he needs.

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Gilman sentenced Sullivan to 15 to 30 years in state prison on the third-degree murder charge that he pleaded guilty to earlier this year. He also sentenced him to 3 to 10 years on a charge of endangering the welfare of children, which will be served at the same time as his murder sentence.

The age of the victim triggered a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Earlier this year, Sullivan admitted to fatally shaking his son in 2023 a death that shocked the small riverfront community of Bristol where the family lived.

The infant's mother, Madisen Neidlein, attended the sentencing, but the prosecution read her victim impact statement.

She told the court after her son’s murder she had to move out of the apartment where she lived with Sullivan and her son and move in with her sister. She lost her job because she was experiencing panic attacks, depression and nightmares after her son’s murder.

“I carried Timmy longer than I got to see him grow,“ Neidlein wrote.

Bristol responded to the Radcliffe Street apartment the couple shared for a report of a child in cardiac arrest. The infant was not breathing and he was cold to the touch. The infant was later pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after midnight May 25, 2023.

The ER doctor found the baby was blue and had bruises on his head and body, which in his experience was "indicative of a battered child."

Sullivan told police he had violently shaken Timothy twice on May 24, and he bumped the infant’s head on the bathtub. He also admitted to bumping the baby's head on a rocking chair and violently shaking his son six other times during the last weeks of his life.

On Tuesday, Sullivan's half-brother, William Myers, testified that they grew up in a chaotic and toxic family with a father who was a violent alcoholic and Tyler’s mother, who had untreated bipolar disorder.

“There was more yelling than talking,” Myers said.

Chief Public Defender Niels Eriksen, who represented Sullivan, told the court when his client was 8-years-old his father beat him until he urinated on himself for not finishing the laundry. As a result of his childhood, Sullivan did not develop coping skills and did not learn how to communicate his needs, Eriksen said.

In his address to the court, Sullivan admitted he is responsible for his son's death and no apology could ever be enough. He expressed his remorse to Neidlein, and thanked her for taking care of their son and putting up with his "issues.

“You are a saint,” he told her. “I have no idea how I’m going to live without you both. I hope one day you will be able to be OK again.”

Sullivan repeatedly spoke about his love for his son, and how he knows he should have done more to be a better parent and reach out for help. Sullivan was alone with the infant for up to 18 hours a day while Neidlein worked two jobs, the prosecution said.

Prosecutor Matthew Lanetti said he believes that Sullivan loves his son, but that he hasn’t taken responsibility for everything he did to him, noting that medical and autopsy reports show the infant had old bruises all over his body.

“He did not simply drop him in the tub,” Lanetti said, adding, “Because he didn’t ask for help, Timmy is dead.”

Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bristol father sentenced in shaking death of baby son. What he told the court