Man to be sentenced in April for death of 4-month-old

Westgate, IA – A Fayette County man is scheduled to be sentenced in April for the death of the 4-month-old nephew of his ex-girlfriend.

24-year-old Dean Alan Hettinger of Westgate was convicted last week of first-degree murder and child endangerment. He faces life in prison.

The baby, Holten Smith, was being cared for by his aunt and Hettinger in April 2018 when he was abused. A search warrant said the couple took the infant to a hospital after he was found twitching, stopped crying and was unresponsive. He died about a month later.

The search warrant said that doctors determined that the baby had bleeding in his brain after sustaining “non-accidental head trauma.” The complaint said the baby also had 36 rib fractures.