A Wixom man charged in the death of a one-year-old child has been acquitted of murder but convicted by a jury of First-Degree Child Abuse and sentenced to decades in prison, according to Oakland County court records.
The jury returned its verdict on October 23, 2025, finding the defendant, Christopher Savage guilty of First-Degree Child Abuse while acquitting him on three of four charges, including Felony Murder. Jurors rejected the prosecution’s murder theory but determined the evidence supported a conviction on the child abuse charge.
Sentencing was imposed on December 10, 2025. Judge Amy Ronayne Krause sentenced the defendant to 25 to 50 years in prison, with 557 days of credit for time already served. The sentence began immediately. The court also ordered no contact with the victim’s family and imposed mandatory court costs and fees.
The case stems from a June 1, 2024 incident in Wixom, when police were called to a home in the 30000 block of Tamarack Drive on a report of a one-year-old child who was unresponsive. Officers arrived to find CPR already in progress and took over lifesaving efforts.
The child, later identified as McKinley Hardy, was transported to Ascension Providence Hospital in Novi and then transferred to Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit for further treatment. Despite medical intervention, McKinley later died.
Investigators determined the child had suffered multiple injuries throughout her body. Prosecutors alleged the defendant was the only adult with the child at the time those injuries were sustained, forming the basis for the charges filed against him.
In June 2024, the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office charged the defendant with Felony Murder and First-Degree Child Abuse. Bond was denied at arraignment, and the case proceeded through pretrial litigation before going to a jury trial in October 2025.
After deliberations, the jury acquitted the defendant of murder and the remaining counts but returned a guilty verdict on First-Degree Child Abuse, leading to the sentence imposed by the court.
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