Hanover Township man sentenced to 20-40 years in prison for killing toddler

A Hanover Township man convicted of beating his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son to death while babysitting the toddler at a Coraopolis home last year was sentenced this week to serve 20 to 40 years in prison.
Tyler Scott Mason, 27, of 155 Devils Den Road, was sentenced Monday in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas to serve the maximum term after he pleaded guilty in June to third-degree murder in connection with the death of Aiden Lombardi.
Allegheny County police said Mason was tasked with watching the boy Feb. 2, 2021 while the child’s mother, Megan Meyers, was away from the residence at 901 Pennsylvania Ave.
The mother told investigators that Aiden appeared fine and even said “goodbye” to her when she left the house to give her friend a ride, but she soon received a call from Mason that the boy was acting strange and wouldn’t wake up. Mason was “hysterical” and “distraught” on the phone call as he told her the boy’s breathing was shallow, according to court documents. He then told her that Aiden was not breathing as he performed resuscitation efforts on the boy until paramedics arrived.
Both Mason and Meyers called 911 to alert authorities of the emergency. Meanwhile, neighbors later told investigators that they heard a child’s screams around the time Aiden was fatally injured.
Aiden was taken by ambulance to Heritage Valley Sewickley Hospital and then flown by medical helicopter to UPMC Children’s hospital in Pittsburgh, where he died the following night. Doctors told police that Aiden suffered a severe skull fracture on the left side of his head, bleeding on his brain and bruises on his face and head. An autopsy determined the child died of blunt force trauma to his head and his death was ruled a homicide.
Mason was charged the day after the boy’s death and has been held without bond at the Allegheny County Jail since his arrest.
He pleaded guilty June 21 to charges of third-degree murder and child endangerment, according to online court documents. In addition to the maximum prison sentence, Judge Kelly Bigley also ordered Mason to serve 12 months on probation after his release.
His defense attorney, Christopher Thomas, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.