Man pleads guilty in death of girlfriend’s 2-year-old

KALISPELL — A 22-year-old Evergreen man has entered a guilty plea in the death of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son.

Brandon Newberry entered an Alford plea Wednesday to mitigated deliberate homicide. In exchange, prosecutors will recommend a 40-year prison term when he is sentenced on April 19.

Under an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to gain a conviction.

An autopsy found Forrest died from a laceration of the small intestine that poisoned him.

Attorneys said Wednesday that Newberry had undiagnosed mental health issues, including impulse control disorder, at the time of the boy’s death. Prosecutors said he could not fully appreciate the needs of a toddler and was ill-equipped to be the boy’s primary caregiver while his girlfriend, Takara Juntunen, was at work.