ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Nearly a year after a 14-month-old boy was killed in a house fire in Lesslie, the child's half-brother pleaded guilty in connection to the blaze.
An emotional Jacob Morgan spoke before a York County court moments after the judge accepted a guilty plea deal.
"I just wish I could have gotten to him on time," said Morgan.
The 17-year-old is charged for setting his family's home on fire in March of 2015 and killing his 14-month-old half brother Joshua Hill in the process. Originally charged with murder and arson in the first degree, Morgan pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and unlawful conduct toward a child and entered an Alford plea on third-degree arson Tuesday.
Morgan's stepfather and Joshua's father, Myke Hill, spoke on Morgan's behalf before the court.
"If I believed for an instant that he could kill his brother I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be supporting him. I wouldn't be behind him this entire year. Neither would the rest of the family," said Hill.
Morgan will serve 15 years in prison for the two guilty pleas and five years probation on the Alford plea. The defense told the court it sought expert analysis of the fire scene that confirmed SLED's findings of multiple origins of the fire-- a fact that typically points to arson. Morgan would have faced a minimum of 30 years in prison if convicted of arson in the first degree. Despite the findings, Morgan's mother Julie still supports her son.
"I know in my heart that my son, my oldest son, is innocent of what they said he did to my youngest son. He loves his brother," said Julie Hill.
