CINCINNATI -- The father of a 2-year-old girl who was starved and badly beaten before she died was sentenced to death Monday for aggravated murder.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Shanahan followed the jury's recommendation that 34-year-old Glen Bates should be executed for the death of his daughter Glenara.
Bates' attorney said he wants to appeal the sentence. Bates didn't speak at the sentencing hearing.
The jury in Cincinnati convicted Bates on multiple charges in Glenara's death. His attorneys had argued that he should get life in prison and that such a sentence would force him to think about what happened every day.
Glenara was pronounced dead in March 2015 after her mother took her to a hospital. Prosecutors said Glenara had belt and bite marks, bruises, missing teeth, broken ribs, head trauma and other injuries.
Glenara weighed 13 pounds when she died. The average 2-year-old weighs more than 20 pounds.
"This man is a murderer who needs to pay for what he did to this innocent baby," Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said in a statement. "My heart breaks for this little girl. She died in one of the most horrific ways imaginable."
Glenara's mother, Andrea Bradley, has pleaded not guilty in the case. She has a plea hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
Authorities said her other six children are in the custody of relatives or family services.
