A Coney Island man could spend the rest of his days in prison after a judge sentenced him to 25 years to life behind bars for beating his daughter to death and assaulting her mother on Father’s Day last year.
The sentence is a worthy punishment for 20-year-old Shaquan Taylor, who murdered his 1-year-old daughter, Nylah Lewis, after being entrusted to care for her, according to Brooklyn’s top prosecutor.
“A helpless and innocent child was beaten to death, sadly, at the hands of the person responsible for nurturing and protecting her,” District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. “With today’s sentence, he has been held accountable.”
Supreme Court Justice Vincent Del Giudice on Wednesday sentenced Taylor to 20 years to life in prison for second-degree murder, five years for second-degree assault, and one and a half to three years for aggravated harassment, after a jury convicted him of the charges last month.
The murder occurred on June 18, 2017, when Taylor texted Nylah’s mother, Tammy Lewis, around 2:30 pm, and told her that Nylah was having trouble breathing at his West 32nd Street apartment, according to prosecutors.
And when Lewis arrived at the apartment, she found the baby unconscious on the couch — with bruising, swelling, and lacerations on her face — and promptly fled with Nylah to call 911, prosecutors said.
But Taylor followed Lewis to the lobby and began beating her in the neck and face while she was still holding the baby, according to the district attorney, who said that Taylor then grabbed Nylah, handed her to a passerby, and continued beating Lewis before fleeing on foot.
Police found Taylor soon afterwards hiding in the bushes in a lot near his building, prosecutors said.
Nylah was rushed to Coney Island Hospital — suffering a fractured skull, loss of oxygen to the brain, and bruising all over her body — before being transferred to Maimonides Medical Center, where she spent five days in a coma before she died of her injuries on June 23.
