Man sentenced in death of girlfriend's tot

A Southampton man should feel lucky that he got a prison sentence of 16 years to life for punching his girlfriend's toddler to death, the boy's mother said in court Thursday.

"My son didn't get to live two years," Vanessa Jones said to Suffolk County Court Judge James Hudson. "What did he do that was that bad? What did he do that was that bad, that he had to die?"

Pedro Jones Jr. -- no relation to Vanessa or 17-month-old Roy Jones III -- pleaded guilty in January to second-degree murder for killing Roy in August 2010. Jones admitted punching the boy in the chest on the Shinnecock Indian reservation to get him to stop crying -- the culmination of months of abuse.

Jones tried to withdraw his guilty plea, but Hudson wouldn't permit it, telling him he knew the consequences of admitting his guilt.

Defense attorney William Ferris of Islandia suggested in court Thursday that Vanessa Jones was also responsible for some of the boy's abuse, as he did when his client pleaded guilty. Many of the two dozen members of the Shinnecock Nation, there in support of Vanessa Jones, bristled as Ferris spoke.

Referring to her as "Vanessa Williams," he said, "She left her child with my client that day so she could party with friends after work."

He said his client is remorseful for what he did. "He loved Roy," Ferris said.

Both Hudson and Assistant District Attorney Raphael Pearl said the blame for Roy's death belongs entirely with Pedro Jones.

"The only person responsible for this child's death is standing before you," Pearl told Hudson. He said an extensive investigation by several agencies found that only Pedro Jones punched the boy.

Pedro Jones spoke briefly in court. "Your honor, I am deeply sorry for what I did," he said.

Hudson told Ferris he was offended by his remarks about the boy's mother.

"This court will not accept idle speculation at the expense of a grieving mother mourning the death of her child," Hudson said. "I find these comments to be obscene."

Turning to Jones, Hudson told him: "You hit little Roy because you said you wanted him to be a man. A man would not have hit a child. He will never grow up because of what you did."

Vanessa Jones said her son's murder "destroyed everyone in my family."

She said she continues to work and take classes, but life is darker now.

"It feels without a purpose," she said. "Roy was one of a kind. I feel cheated."