Missouri Man Gets 20 Years for Baseball Bat Attack

A southeastern Missouri man has been ordered to spend two decades in prison in connection with his 2013 baseball bat attack that killed his father and critically injured his mother.

The Daily American Republic of Poplar Bluff reports that 29-year-old Matthew Dale Jenkins' sentence mirrored the recommendation of Butler County prosecutors.

Jenkins pleaded guilty in September to second-degree murder. Prosecutors dropped related charges of felony assault and two counts of armed criminal action.

Authorities say Jenkins attacked 56-year-old Carl Don Jenkins and 62-year-old Vicki Jenkins in their Poplar Bluff home in January 2013. Carl Jenkins died 15 days later, and Vicki Jenkins died last October.