Devin Warren Sizemore, Child Abuse Resulting in Death and Voluntary Manslaughter, Oklahoma 2024

A 28-year-old Oklahoma man has been convicted of child abuse resulting in death and voluntary manslaughter. Devin Warren Sizemore, of McAlester, Oklahoma, was found guilty by a federal jury on April 10, 2024, for the tragic death of his 21-month-old daughter.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Sizemore ‘baptized’ the child by holding her underwater for approximately 30 seconds, resulting in her untimely death. Sizemore was estranged from the child’s mother at the time of the incident.

The child’s body was discovered in a barn near a pond, where Sizemore had taken the child for a visit. Law enforcement was notified when Sizemore failed to return the child and his residence, leading to a search party that found the child’s lifeless body.

The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma and the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice due to the federally recognized Indian tribe status of the defendant and victim. The crimes occurred in Pittsburg County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation.

Sizemore faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for the child abuse resulting in death charge and 15 years in prison for the voluntary manslaughter charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI, Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation, McAlester Police Department, Krebs Police Department, and Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Wilson for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, and Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Gray of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office made the announcement.

Devin Warren Sizemore, 28, of McAlester, Oklahoma, was convicted of child abuse resulting in death and voluntary manslaughter. He will be sentenced at a later date. Sizemore’s crimes occurred on an undetermined date.

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