MAN WHO MURDERED 1-YEAR-OLD BOY SENTENCED TO 62 YEARS IN PRISON

Evansville, IN – Prosecutor Diana Moers announces that on May 9, 2025, Tavion Donte Cobb was sentenced to 62 years executed in the Indiana Department of Correction for the murder of a 1-year-old boy. This sentence follows a trial on February 13, 2025, where the jury found the Defendant guilty of Murder and two counts of Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Death, both Level 1 Felonies. The Honorable Judge Robert J. Pigman of the Vanderburgh County Superior Court presided.

On September 27, 2022, the victim’s mother allowed the Defendant to watch her son. The child had been fussy and refusing to sleep. The Defendant returned the victim to his mother with severe burns on his face, cold to the touch, and not breathing. Cause of death was later determined to be blunt force trauma to the abdomen.

It was immediately apparent at the sentencing hearing that the Defendant had no remorse for his heinous actions. His only concern was to allegedly correct a statement on a court record that he was a gang member, which might affect his housing in prison. In stark contrast, a family member of the victim testified strongly and eloquently that the Defendant had robbed the victim of the opportunities of a full life and emphasized the necessity of taking responsibility for his actions and living the remainder of his life to make up for the lifetime of potential that he took from the victim.

Judge Pigman noted that the aggravators outweighed the mitigators in sentencing the Defendant to 60 years for the Murder and 2 years for a lesser included Level 6 Felony Neglect of a Dependent to avoid double jeopardy issues. The sentences are to be served consecutively. Judge Pigman observed that the victim was tragically young, that the Defendant was given care over the victim, and that the 1-year-old boy suffered before he passed, shown most heartbreakingly by the burns on his face.

Prosecutor Moers commented: “This case will live with all of us forever – from the family of the victim to first responders, law enforcement, and the Prosecutor’s Office, the tragic end to this innocent child’s life has affected us all. The actions of Tavion Cobb were horrific, and we were glad to seek justice for this innocent child whose life was cut tragically short because of his evil deeds. My office will always fight hard for children and pour every resource we have into continued convictions for those that seek to harm them. It is my hope that some healing can occur through justice and that Cobb will never enjoy another day of freedom for taking an innocent life.

I commend the efforts of my trial Deputy Ian Blair; as well as law enforcement partners Det. J. Helm, Det. D. Vonderscher, Det. N. Henderson, and Officer J. McCrarey; and, in addition, my staff J. Carter, T. Carden, J. Pollock, M. Richardville, J. Savage, and J. McQuay, for their hard work on behalf of this innocent child.”

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