Downstate man admits causing toddler's death

MARION -- Prosecutors in southern Illinois' Williamson County say they won't seek more than 20 years in prison for a man who admits causing the death of his girlfriend's toddler in 2006.

On the day his trial was to have begun, 29-year-old Peter Kerrigan of Herrin pleaded guilty Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter in the December 2006 death of 22-month-old Brynden Gibson.

Williamson County's prosecutor says Kerrigan was living with the child's mother when he allegedly shook the toddler violently. The baby died two days later at a St. Louis hospital.

Kerrigan had been charged with first-degree murder, but prosecutors dropped that count as part of a plea deal.