Jury convicts Macomb man in child’s death

MONMOUTH, Ill. — An Oct. 19 sentencing date is scheduled for a Macomb man who’s again been convicted of beating his girlfriend’s 5-year-old daughter to death.

The McDonough County Voice reports that a jury in western Illinois deliberated for more than two hours before convicting 33-year-old Daniel Belknap in the 2006 death of Silven Yocum.

Special Prosecutor Ed Parkinson says Belknap was on drugs when he hit the girl in the head at least three times, likely with an object.

The child spent six days in a coma at a Peoria hospital before dying.

Belknap’s earlier murder conviction was overturned in 2009 on a legal technicality.