Joplin man sentenced to 15 years in death

NEOSHO, Mo. (AP) - A 26-year-old southwest Missouri man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the death of an 18-month-old girl.

The Joplin Globe reports (http://bit.ly/1jqNiVh ) that Bryant L. Sykes Jr. was sentenced Friday in Newton County court. He pleaded guilty earlier to second-degree murder in the 2012 death of his girlfriend's 18-month-old daughter, Ada Bowman.

Prosecutors say the toddler died after Sykes threw her across a room at their home outside Joplin. The child reportedly suffered bleeding in brain as well as injuries to her liver, spleen and ribs. She died four days later at a Kansas City hospital.

The child's mother, Gina Salazar, pleaded guilty recently to misdemeanor child endangerment and received a suspended sentence.