(Reuters) - A South Dakota jury on Tuesday began deliberating the fate of a Sioux Falls man accused of killing the 2-year-old son of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson in 2013.
Joseph Patterson, 29, faces a mandatory life sentence if convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Tyrese Ruffin, who was the son of his then girlfriend and Peterson.
South Dakota Assistant Attorney General Laura Shattuck told jurors in closing arguments that Ruffin suffered four blows to the head while in Patterson's care and died from brain hemorrhaging, the Argus Leader newspaper reported.
Defense attorney Tim Rensch has argued that the swelling in Ruffin's brain was the result of choking on a fruit snack while Patterson was in another room, according to local media reports.