Pierce County man sentenced for putting crying baby in freezer

A Pierce County man who put his infant daughter in the freezer and beat her because she kept crying has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Tyler Deutsch, 26, was sentenced Friday for the May 25, 2013 incident. He pleaded guilty to First Degree Child Assault in January.

“Though the child has fully recovered, and we are grateful for that,” says Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist, “this was a horrible and inexplicable crime.”

Lindquist says the victim’s mother had left the baby in Deutsch’s care. He wanted to take a nap but the baby kept crying, so he stuck her in the freezer, went to his bedroom and fell asleep.

Deutsch woke up about 90 minutes later when he heard the baby’s mother returning home. He rushed to the freezer and pulled the girl out. The mother saw him pull the victim from the freezer and called 911. The baby was wearing only a diaper and her body temperature had dropped to 85 degrees. She had blisters, a broken arm and leg, and a head injury.

According to court papers, Deutsch gave Pierce County sheriff’s officers several accounts but finally said he put the child in the freezer Saturday afternoon “because he was tired and she was crying.”