Sentenced: VA Father Arrested After Infant Is Taken Off Life Support

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Verona man faces felony charges for murder as well as child abuse and neglect in relation to the death of his infant child, according to the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office.

The charges for the man, 25-year-old Blake Matthew Clark, stem from an incident on May 17 when the Augusta County Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call about an unresponsive infant who was not breathing at a Verona residence, the ACSO release said. When emergency medical personnel from Staunton Augusta Rescue Squad and Augusta County Fire and Rescue responded, they were able to perform life-saving measures and resuscitate the baby.

The infant was taken to Augusta Health and then airlifted to University of Virginia Medical Center for more advanced medical care. However, the infant was taken off life support May 20 and pronounced deceased at UVA Medical Center, according to the ACSO release. The child’s remains were then taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Manassas for an autopsy.

A joint investigation among medical personnel, law enforcement and Child Protective Services concluded that the infant had sustained life-threatening injuries that were consistent with physical harm, which occurred while the infant was in Clark’s care, according to the release.

Verona father charged with murder, child neglect after infant’s death

A Verona man faces felony charges for murder as well as child abuse and neglect in relation to the death of his infant child, according to the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office.

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Phoenix Kane

 

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A Verona man was sentenced to life after pleading guilty to the first-degree murder of his three-month-old child.

Blake Clark, 26, originally entered his guilty plea in December 2025 for charges that stemmed from an incident May 17, 2025, when first responders responded to a call for an unresponsive infant at a Verona residence. Emergency medical personnel were able to resuscitate the baby at the time, but he was later taken off life support at the hospital.

Verona man sentenced for first-degree murder of his infant son

A Verona man was sentenced after pleading guilty to the first-degree murder of his three-month-old child.

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The judge said if ever there was a case “where a life sentence is appropriate, this one is. You killed your son, who couldn’t do anything to protect himself.”

Clark told Workowski he “struggles every day with missing my son, his mother, and my daughter.” He said he is not “a bad person. I’m just one who made a big mistake.” Clark said, “This one time I messed up. I regret it every day.”

The severity of the death was underscored by expert medical testimony.

A University of Virginia pediatrician described Phoenix Clark’s injuries when brought to the UVA Medical Center last year.

Dr. Jennifer Andrews, a UVA child abuse pediatrician, said the child was never conscious from the time he was brought to UVA on May 17, 2025, to his death three days later. A ventilator and medications were used to stabilize Phoenix.

Scans taken at UVA showed a bleeding brain, hemorrhages in both eyes, and a detached retina of the right eye. There was hemorrhaging of the spinal cord and nerve injury to the spinal cord.

Andrews said her diagnosis was that Phoenix suffered abusive head trauma.

Deputy Augusta County Commonwealth’s Attorney Lorna Hilliard said Blake Clark took care of Phoenix on May 17 after the child’s mother left the Verona home for a Mother’s Day visit with her mother.

In mid-afternoon, Clark called his fiancée to say the baby was not breathing. Cherish Via, the child’s mother, called 911. The Staunton-Augusta Rescue Squad responded to the Meade Park Circle address in Verona and used life-saving measures to induce a pulse from Phoenix. The child was first brought to Augusta Health and then taken to the UVA Medical Center. The child died on May 20, after being declared brain dead.

Augusta County Sheriff’s Office investigators said Blake Clark told them the child “was screaming bloody murder” before stopping breathing.

Augusta County Commonwealth’s Attorney Tim Martin told Workowski that many life sentences have been given in Augusta County murder cases. Looking at Via, Martin said, “You lost your son. He (Clark) destroyed your baby.”

Martin, a veteran prosecutor who once worked in Richmond, described Phoenix’s killing as “one of the most violent and brutal murders I’ve seen.”

Clark’s defense attorney, Varinder Dhillon, said his client had made “a horrific and terrible mistake,” But he said Clark had not fled the area and had taken responsibility for the death. He asked Workowski “for judicial grace” in sentencing Clark. Dhillon said a 20-year sentence for the convicted killer “is nothing to sneeze at.”

Augusta County man sentenced to life for murdering his baby

A Verona man was sentenced to life in prison Monday for the murder of his infant son in May of last year.

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