A 34-year-old Pennsylvania man will serve at least five years in state prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter for the death of his five-month-old son while their family was vacationing in Corolla in the summer 2018.
According to a Currituck County Sheriff’s Office news release, deputies and Currituck Fire/EMS were called to the 700 block of Lakeview Court in Corolla on July 17, 2018 in reference to an infant who was not breathing.
Franklin Thomas Imschweiler was taken to Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk for treatment. He succumbed to his injuries five days later.
On July 20, a felony child abuse warrant was issued for Thomas William Imschweiler of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He was taken into custody and brought back to Currituck County.
A grand jury upgraded the charges against Imschweiler to murder on Sept. 17, 2018. According to the indictment, Franklin had suffered serious head injuries sometime between July 14 and 17.
Court records show several motions were filed to allow experts for the defense to examine the case, which was further delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
At a hearing on Nov. 15, Imschweiler pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter after entering into an agreement with prosecutors.
He was taken into custody following the hearing to begin serving a minimum of 60 months, up to a maximum of 84 months in state prison, minus 92 days served while he was being held in lieu of bond in 2018.