Lakewood man sentenced to maximum 48 years for beating girlfriend’s young son to death

GOLDEN, Colo. – The Lakewood man who pleaded guilty last month to beating his girlfriend’s 4-year-old son to death in 2014 was sentenced Wednesday to the maximum 48 years in prison that he faced.

Ever Lopez-Calidonio, 27, pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death charges last month for killing his girlfriend’s son, Jason “J.J.” Ramirez in October 2014, by beating him repeatedly.

He faced between 36 and 48 years in prison at sentencing, but Judge Chris Bachmeyer handed him the maximum sentence, saying it was among the most violent child deaths she’d seen in more than two decades on the job.

In October 2014, Lakewood police were called to the home Lopez-Calidonio shared with his girlfriend and her son, and found the boy laying on the pavement outside his mother’s apartment.

The boy’s mother had just left for work, and neighbors had seen Lopez-Calidonio slapping the boy’s chest and called police.

Though Lopez-Calidonio claimed he was trying to help the boy breathe when he was struggling, the boy’s autopsy showed that he had a transected liver and other internal bleeding caused by various injuries.

In addition to the blunt-force injuries to his body, the boy was found to have injuries to his head as well.

In his plea hearing, Lopez-Calidonio admitted he started beating the boy in the abdomen when the boy soiled himself while Lopez-Calidonio was running late for work.

During his sentencing hearing, Lopez-Calidonio told the judge he’d made a “mistake” and wanted to be treated as such, but the judge didn’t agree.

Lopez-Calidonio, a Guatemala native, has been living in the country illegally after overstaying a visa, the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office says.