A drug dealer who fatally crushed the skull of his girlfriend’s 11-month-old daughter while babysitting her because she was interrupting him while he played video games has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Defendant Bryce Lawrence Ceaser, 25, was babysitting 11-month-old Ka’Oir Richards in a flat in Settler’s Cove Apartments, in the city of Beaumont, in the US state of Texas, while his girlfriend Ktirrah Stevens went to work.

While babysitting Ka’Oir, Ceaser reportedly beat and shook her, resulting in a cracked skull.

Ka’oir was reportedly rushed to St Elizabeth Hospital by Ktirrah for choking but died a few hours later on 3rd December 2021.

Beaumont Police went to the hospital that day to investigate Ka’oir’s case.

A CT scan revealed multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, brain bleeding, a large bruise on her right shoulder and head, and signs of petechiae in her left eye according to reports.

Ceaser claimed he gave Ka’oir small crackers, and she became unresponsive shortly after.

He lied about the bruises, suggesting Ka’oir must have sustained them when he was clearing her airway.

Police arrested Ceaser in the hospital for outstanding warrants and took him to the Beaumont Police Department.

Ceaser reportedly stuck to his story initially, but eventually confessed to the police, admitting to getting frustrated because Ka’Oir was misbehaving and “popping the child a couple of times so she would stop crying.”

During the trial, Ceaser’s defence attorney, Wendell Radford Jr, tried to establish that Ceaser’s actions were not intentional and painted him as a good man.

Radford argued Ceaser was an unemployed security guard who occasionally sold a small amount of cannabis, not an unemployed drug dealer.

Prosecutor Tatiana Zelezniak countered, saying: “It’s taken him two years to halfway say he’s sorry.”

She emphasised that blaming the child for misbehaving or being loud is not an excuse for causing her death.

Judge Raquel West in the 252nd District Court found Ceaser guilty of one count of felony injury to a child and one count of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury to a child.

Ceaser was sentenced to 30 years on each charge, with the sentences running concurrently in a state correctional facility.

Ceaser will be eligible for parole after completing 15 years of his sentence.

If released, he will face legal restrictions preventing him from owning a firearm.

Judge West also said Ceaser would get credit for any time already spent in custody and has the right to appeal.