Chicago Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Teen with Single Punch

A Chicago man accused of throwing a punch that killed a 17-year-old boy on an Indiana beach has agreed to plead guilty in his death.
Chicago Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Teen with Single Punch
4/11/2013
Updated:
4/11/2013

A Chicago man accused of throwing a punch that killed a 17-year-old boy on an Indiana beach has agreed to plead guilty in his death.

James Malacek, 20, agreed to waive his right to a jury trail and plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Kevin Kennelly Jr., according to local newspaper Herald-Argus.

Kennelly died after a single punch to the head, according to an autopsy; the punch caused brain death, and the youth died several days later at the hospital. The punch was allegedly thrown by Malacek. The incident happened in Long Beach along Lake Michigan, about 30 miles southeast of Chicago, at a beach party in the summer of 2011.

Malacek will serve 145 days in jail, then be placed on electronic monitoring for about three and a half years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.