Man guilty in death of 7-month-old son in South Pasadena

A 31-year-old man was found guilty this week in the death of his 7-month-old son more than two years ago in South Pasadena, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.

The DA’s Office said that on or about Sept. 25, 2022, then-29-year-old Christopher Lashun Richmond was the sole caregiver for his son when he “deprived the infant of oxygen, causing him to go into cardiac arrest.”

The baby was found unconscious and not breathing before being put on life support at a local hospital. The child was pronounced dead when life support was removed on Feb. 17, 2023.

Richmond was charged in October 2023 with one count of murder and one count of assault on a child causing death in connection with the case.

He was also charged with one count of one count of injuring a spouse, cohabitant, fiancé, boyfriend, girlfriend or child’s parent, as well as one count of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury in relation to a previous incident that occurred on or about April 3, 2022.

“Richmond pushed the baby’s mother to the ground during her pregnancy, willfully inflicting a bodily injury,” the DA’s Office stated.

Jurors found Richmond guilty one one count of assault on a child causing death and one count of injuring a spouse, cohabitant, fiancé, boyfriend, girlfriend or child’s parent.

The jurors found Richmond not guilty of assaulting his partner by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury and was deadlocked 11-1 on the murder charge.

“The death of this defenseless baby is unconscionable and one of the most heinous crimes an individual can commit,” District Attorney George Gascón said. “Mothers and their children deserve our protection as some of the most vulnerable members of our society.”

Richmond now faces 26 years to life in prison and is due to be sentenced on Oct. 7.

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