By Jalen Maki

Tomahawk Leader Editor

MERRILL – A Merrill man this week received a prison sentence for the 2020 death of his 16-month-old son.

Cody Gene Robertson, 26, appeared in Lincoln County Court on Monday, Nov. 28 and was sentenced to five years in prison. He was credited with 558 days already spent in custody. Robertson will also serve six years of extended supervision, according to court records.

In August, Robertson pleaded no contest to a felony count of child neglect, causing death. Several other child neglect- and drug-related charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal.

The child died on Nov. 12, 2020. An autopsy found roughly 70 to 80 lesions on the child’s body, attributed to physical abuse. Methamphetamine was found in the child’s blood, as well as in the urine of the child’s siblings.

Robertson was taken into custody in Merrill on May 19, 2021, following a six-month investigation into the child’s death.

The child’s mother, Amber Paige Boyd, 24, was arrested in Merrill earlier that day. In March, Boyd pleaded guilty to a felony count of child neglect, causing death. As part of a plea deal similar to Robertson’s, several other child neglect- and drug-related charges were dismissed.

In July, Boyd was sentenced to four years in prison, credited with 415 days she had already spent in custody. Boyd will serve six years of extended supervision after her release.