GOSHEN, Ind. (WNDU) - An Elkhart man had his murder charge removed after he pleaded guilty but mentally ill Thursday in the death of his 2-year-old son during an 18-hour standoff with police in July 2024.

According to our reporting partners at The Goshen News , 37-year-old Ryan Snyder told the court he laid on 2-year-old Jaxon Snyder and caused his death during the standoff at his home on Pendleton Drive.

Officers were called to the home the night of July 6 to check on Snyder and his two children. According to charging documents , the mother of the two children called police after receiving a video call from Snyder in which he allegedly threatened to kill the children.

After many hours of failed negotiations with Snyder, SWAT officers made their way into the home the following aft

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