A former Colorado airman who beat—and possibly strangled—the 4-year-old son he just met to death was sentenced Monday to life in prison.

People reported that Jeremy Deonte Ralph, 26, was convicted in August of first-degree murder by one in a position of trust for the December 2016 death of Montana Glynn. Ralph called the 911 for a possible drowning but police concluded that the child was beaten to death and placed in the tub as a coverup.

Ralph reportedly told authorities that he took sleeping medication and fell asleep while Glynn was in the tub. He said he awoke to the child floating in the tub and unresponsive. However, responding officers reported that the bathtub was dry and Colorado Springs detective Terry Thrumston told People that the child’s blood was located throughout the house.

“The child wasn’t in the tub and there was no water in the tub. The child was found in the living room. The story was not consistent with the explanation given,” Thrumston commented.

The detective also claimed that Ralph’s retelling of events didn’t line up with the child’s injuries. A coroner later determined that Glynn died from blunt force trauma and was possibly strangled on the day in question.

The 26-year-old had only met his son a few months before killing him. Thrumston claimed that he learned he was a father in 2014 and met Glynn in the summer of 2016. The child moved in with his father in November.

People noted that the child’s mother, Jonte Glynn, is active duty and was at work when her son was murdered. Jonte later claimed that Ralph would criticize how she disciplined their son and told her that she would have to start “punching” him, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.

The paper also reported that prosecutor Donna Billek accused the ex-airman of joking about having “one less baby mama” in a recorded jail conversation.

“It’s laughter to him–it doesn’t mean anything at all,” Billek said while holding back tears.

Though a jury determined that Ralph didn’t intentionally kill his son, his carried out actions that he knew would result in the child’s death. He was also found guilty of second-degree murder after deliberation, child abuse, and recklessly causing death.

KOAA reported that the Colorado man will serve the life sentence without the possibility of parole.

[Featured Image: El Paso Sheriff’s Office; Facebook/Jonte Glynn]