MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. (AP) — A southern New Jersey man who smothered his infant son in their home because the child would not stop crying has been sentenced to 12 years in state prison.

Eric Griffin received his sentence Friday. The 26-year-old Burlington City resident had pleaded guilty last month to aggravated manslaughter as part of a plea deal with Burlington County prosecutors.

County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi says Griffin put a pillow over the face of his 4-week-old son, Nyir Griffin, in November 2010 after the child wouldn’t stop crying. He removed the pillow when the infant stopped making noise, but soon realized the boy was no longer breathing and left the home.

The infant’s maternal grandmother later found the infant unresponsive and he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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