A Merrillville dad got a split term Thursday after his 3-year-old son King Penro picked up a loaded gun tossed on the bed and fatally shot himself in the chest.

Kyle Penro, 29, pleaded guilty Nov. 15 to neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, a level 3 felony, and neglect of a dependent, a level 6 felony.

He was originally charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in catastrophic injury, a level 1 felony, and two counts of neglect of a dependent, both level 6 felonies.

Judge Salvador Vasquez sentenced him to two years in prison and three years probation. Under Indiana law, he will serve 75%, about 18 months behind bars.

Penro’s family filled most of the courtroom. His lawyer, Randall Cable, said it was a tragic accident.

The boy’s mother Letoyia Morrow said Penro, her partner, was devastated by what happened. She couldn’t bring herself to talk with him about it. She knew what happened from newspaper articles.

It was “so traumatic”, she was “not prepared to really know.”

Normally, the gun was kept in a safe nearby, she said, while answering a series of Vasquez’s questions.

Merrillville police responded Dec. 4, 2023, to the 3100 block of West 79th Place.

A medic was carrying the boy out of the house. Kyle Penro came outside completely distraught and crying, telling the officer it was his son. The officer asked where the gun was.

Penro told police he picked up the kids after work from their babysitters. He was lying on his bed, playing with his 2-year-old twin girls, when he remembered the loaded gun in his pocket. He took it out and put it on the bed behind him while talking on behind him while talking on the phone with the boy’s mother.

He heard a “loud bang,” turned around and saw the boy bleeding from his chest. Penro hung up with the woman, called 911, then got towels to apply pressure. He didn’t see the boy holding the gun. He was a parent who in a single moment “made a mistake,” Cable said.

The guilt over his son’s death “is a far greater punishment than you could do to him,” Cable said.

Deputy Prosecutor Michelle Jatkiewicz said Penro was undoubtedly a “good person” but the child was dead and there needed to be consequences. He should have protected all three kids from what happened, she said.

Any child would be curious with something on the bed, she said. “Unfortunately, that curiosity cost him his life,” Jatkiewicz said. Penro has “one job” to keep them safe and “failed horribly,” she added.

Penro spoke briefly in court, saying he never thought anything like that would happen and would have to always live with it.

“I’ll never see my son again,” he said.

Vasquez noted they saw very similar cases, where a child found a loaded gun in the home with dire consequences.

“You did neglect your children,” he said. “You really failed.”

After the hearing, a couple of dozen of Penro’s loved ones lingered emotionally in the hallway.

A man, who said he was the boy’s grandfather but did not provide his name, said Penro was “raised right” and implied he shouldn’t have gone to prison. Another man said Penro carried a weapon to protect himself while working.

mcolias@post-trib.com