Man sentenced to 70 years in boy's beating death

EDWARDSVILLE -- A southwestern Illinois man who beat his ex-girlfriend's 5-year-old son to death is headed to prison for 70 years.

A Madison County judge sentenced 36-year-old Frank Price on Tuesday, three months after jurors convicted him of first-degree murder.

Price killed Ethan Allen in September 2008, then claimed the injury resulted from a bicycle fall. The boy died at a St. Louis hospital after being taken off life support.

Price has a previous battery conviction for which he was placed on court supervision. At the time of Ethan's death, Price was free on his own recognizance on a 2007 cocaine-possession charge.

Prosecutors had asked for a 70-year sentence, while Price's attorney requested a 20-year term. Price could have faced up to a century in prison.