A 23-year-old Jennings man convicted in September of killing his girlfriend's 10-month-old daughter has been sentenced in Tulsa County District Court.
Brandon Wade Nordstedt is sentenced to life in prison without parole in the 2015 child abuse murder of Emmerson "Emmy" O'Rourke. Tulsa County DistrictCourt Judge Doug Drummond followed the jury's recommendation in sentencing Nordstedt to life without parole.
Nordstedt's sentencing was initially scheduled for early October, less than 2 weeks after his conviction, but Judge Drummond postponed sentencing afterthe convicted man entered a last minute request for a pre-sentencing investigation.
The case began in July 2015 when Nordstedt called an ambulance to an Owasso home in response to a child not breathing. He told dispatchers he believedthe baby girl was having some kind of "allergic reaction."
However, medical personnel found bruising above the baby's eye and multiple tears to her genital area. Nordstedt, who was the only adult at home when thegirl sustained her injuries, could not provide a plausible explanation for the baby's injuries. He told police that the child may have hurt herselfby hitting her face on a desk or hitting her head in her crib.
A member of the nursing staff at the hospital where the baby was receiving treatment for her injuries told police that she overheard Nordstedt apologizingto the baby, saying, "I'm so sorry, please fight. I will never hurt you again." The witness claims the man asked God for forgiveness for himselfand healing for the little girl.
After a coroner ruled that the girl died of blunt force trauma to the head, prosecutors charged Nordstedt on August 20, 2015. U.S. Marshals arrested himin Kansas five days later.
He was held without bond until his September trial, where a jury convicted him of first degree murder and recommended a sentence of life in prison withoutthe possibility of parole. The judge followed the jury's recommendation on Monday, ordering that the convicted man will spend the rest of his lifein prison.
