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Barber Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter in Death of Child

STROUDSBURG — A jury has found a man not guilty of third-degree murder in the death of his son, but found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Christop...

STROUDSBURG -- A jury has found a man not guilty of third-degree murder in the death of his son, but found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Christopher Barber was accused of beating his son so badly, it caused his death more than two decades later.

In 1991, Barber shook and dropped his infant son, Christopher Kostenbader, causing serious and permanent brain damage.
Barber pleaded guilty to the assault and was sentenced to 5 to 10 years in prison -- serving 6 of those behind bars.

Kostenbader lived for 23 years on a ventilator, remaining in a vegetative state and on life support until May of 2015 when he died.

The coroner later ruled he died from the injuries he received as a baby.

Christopher Barber took the stand in his own defense during this trial, telling jurors he loved his son and never meant to hurt him, but became stressed because of the baby's crying.

"He needed to let them see the type of person he is, and not the monster the district attorney wanted them to think he was," his defense attorney, Robin Spishock, said.

The jury took less than 2 hours to reach a verdict, finding him not guilty of third-degree murder, but guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Barber was sentenced to two and a half to five years in prison, but with time served, he was released.

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