LUFKIN, Texas (AP) — Prosecutors say a Texas man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole in the drowning death of 3-year-old boy because he told police that his girlfriend was pregnant and they needed room in the home.
Authorities say Bobby Woods Jr. told police that his girlfriend, Billie Jean Cuttler, was pregnant and that he wanted 3-year-old Mason Cuttler dead because they needed space at the home where several families lived. An attorney later said Cuttler wasn’t pregnant.
Woods was convicted Friday of capital murder for the 2015 death. Investigators say Woods pushed Mason into a pond near Lufkin, about 200 miles southeast of Fort Worth.
Cuttler, who faced competency issues , pleaded guilty to conspiracy commit murder in exchange for a 20-year prison term.