Cody Ryan Key, 24, pled guilty to second-degree murder under a negotiated settlement in Putnam County Criminal Court today (Thursday) in the May 17, 2015 beating death of 23-month-old Colten Alexander May and took a sentence of 45 years.

Key, who was set to stand trial for the crime Monday in DeKalb County Criminal Court, received credit of 563 days served from May 19, 2015 to December 1 of this year.

District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway told the Review Thursday that the sentencing was held in Cookeville because Key was already at the jail there.

“We have been preparing for some time to try this case, and the trial had been set for this Monday, Dec. 5. This afternoon he pled guilty to second-degree murder and took a 45-year sentence to serve at 100 percent. We appeared in front of the criminal court in Putnam County at 1 p.m. today for practical reasons, because Key was being housed in the Putnam County Jail.”

Dunaway said that the deal his office negotiated was “out of range,” meaning that Key received more time than the normal range for the crime he pled to.

“The terms of the plea were guilty to second degree murder,” the DA said. “We negotiated a greater sentence than he would have received otherwise. What I mean by that is, normally when someone has been found guilty of second-degree murder you’d get a sentence of 25 years, but due to the circumstances of this case we negotiated 45 years at 100 percent. He was charged with first-degree murder, which is a felony murder. Felony murder means you have committed a felony, and someone died as a result of your actions. If you’re convicted of first-degree murder, you serve a minimum of 51 years. We negotiated 45 in the plea, so he will be going to prison for a long time.”

The young victim was beaten to death, according to Dunaway.

“This is just a sad case,” he said. “The victim was 23-months-old, just three weeks shy of his second birthday. The child died from blunt force trauma, which means he was beaten, in plain language, causing internal injuries which lead to his death.”

Key and the mother of the child, Jessica May, 20, were indicted by the DeKalb County Grand Jury in May 2015. Key was indicted for felony murder and aggravated child abuse and May was charged with aggravated child neglect.

“We expect to get her before the court next week,” Dunaway said. “She is charged with aggravated child neglect. She is not part of the homicide case.”