THE BRONX — The Bronx father convicted of killing his 2-month-old son said he will be tortured by what he did for the rest of his life at his sentencing on Monday.
"Words cannot express how sorry I am," said Jose Feliciano, who was sentenced to 21 years behind bars in the death of his son, Mason Whyte. "I can never undo what I did that day, and I know my apology can never make things right."
Feliciano, 52, strangled Mason in Morris Park in December 2015 to stop him from crying — and then took a walk around the block with his wife, Danielle Whyte, according to law enforcement officials. He told investigators that the two hoped their son would recover by the time they returned.
When the boy remained lifeless, Feliciano and Whyte put his little body in a duffel bag and took him to Brewster, where they dumped Mason's body by Route 22 and Kitchen Corner Road.
Whyte eventually told staff at New York Presbyterian Hospital that her son had died, and officials found the boy on the side of the road, they said.
"This baby was discarded like he was trash. Thrown into a forest to be forgotten," Assistant District Attorney Astrid Borgstedt said at the sentencing.
"No one is here to speak on Mason Whyte's behalf," she said. "But his tragic death cannot be forgotten or brushed aside."
Feliciano had been charged with murder in Mason's death but pleaded guilty to manslaughter March 10.
He told Judge Margaret Clancy that he accepted responsibility for his son's death and that the tragedy had been sparked by his problems with drugs.
"I'd like you to know that I was out of my mind on crack cocaine for most of Mason's brief life, and when I hit him so cruelly on Dec. 10, 2015, I was out of my mind on crack cocaine," he said. "If I hadn't been, there's no doubt in my mind that Mason would be alive today."
Whyte was arrested as well in Mason's death. She has been charged with manslaughter and accused of leaving her baby in the care of Feliciano despite knowing that he could put the child in danger. Her case is still pending.
Feliciano apologized to his wife at his sentencing, although he said he knew he did not deserve her forgiveness, and pledged to devote his life to keeping his son's memory alive.
"With God's help, I hope to dedicate the rest of my life to proving myself worthy of calling myself Mason's father," he said, "and to keeping his beautiful spirit alive in all of our hearts and in this world."
