The judge accepted a negotiated plea but said the punishment did not seem long enough for the killing of 12-year-old Noah Godleski.

VIERA, Fla. — A Florida father was sentenced to 38 years in state prison after pleading no contest to second-degree murder and other charges arising from the beating, neglect and death of his 12-year-old son in their Palm Bay home.

Brevard County Circuit Judge Steve Henderson imposed the sentence on Jason D. Godleski, 38, on July 8 as part of an agreement with prosecutors that ended a case approaching its fifth year. Henderson questioned whether the agreed punishment adequately reflected what happened to Noah Godleski, who investigators said was beaten, denied medical care and left alone in a laundry room while the rest of the household traveled to Connecticut. The judge ultimately approved the agreement but said in court that he did not believe 38 years was enough.

Godleski entered no-contest pleas to charges that included second-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and child neglect causing great bodily harm, according to the State Attorney’s Office for Florida’s 18th Judicial Circuit. Law enforcement and court reports also listed convictions for aggravated manslaughter of a child and tampering with physical evidence. A no-contest plea does not require a defendant to formally admit the allegations, but it allows the court to enter convictions and impose punishment. Godleski had initially faced a first-degree murder prosecution and the possibility of life in prison.

The plea came less than two months before prosecutors Julia Lynch and Samantha Barrett were scheduled to take the case to trial. Jury proceedings had been set to begin Aug. 31, according to the State Attorney’s Office. By accepting the negotiated outcome, prosecutors secured a lengthy prison term without the uncertainty of trial, while Godleski avoided the potential life sentence attached to the original murder charge. Henderson’s comment from the bench placed the central tension of the agreement in public view: The sentence was severe, but the judge believed the underlying conduct could support an even greater punishment.

Investigators said Noah had been confined in the laundry room of the family’s Colonial Avenue home as punishment for what the adults described as misbehavior. Police said Godleski entered the room and beat the boy severely. Prosecutors said the assault included the use of a baseball bat. Noah was later unable to walk, and his ability to speak in complete sentences deteriorated, according to accounts contained in the investigation. Despite those warning signs, authorities said the adults responsible for him did not take him to a hospital or call for emergency help.

Instead, investigators said, Godleski and his live-in girlfriend, Samarial R. Dubose, discussed whether Noah might improve without treatment. Police records said they considered taking him to a hospital if he still could not walk the following day. His condition continued to worsen. Authorities said the couple then took their three other children on a drive to Connecticut, leaving Noah behind in the laundry room. A person whom Godleski allegedly described as a possible caregiver later told investigators that no arrangement had been made to watch the boy.

Days after leaving Florida, Godleski returned and walked into the Palm Bay Police Department. He reported that Noah had died, describing the death as having occurred during sleep. Court records quoted him as offering officers the address and keys to the home, saying they could take him away after he had a cigarette. Officers went to the residence and found Noah’s body in the laundry room. The Brevard County medical examiner determined that he had been dead for several days before police were notified.

Police said the investigation uncovered efforts to shape the account that would be given to authorities. According to a probable cause affidavit, Godleski told a relative that Noah had been struck too hard in the face and the back of the head but described the death as accidental. Investigators said Godleski and Dubose discussed a story designed to make Dubose appear uninvolved. Police also alleged that the adults used Noah’s hands to make some injuries appear self-inflicted and coached the other children about what they should say. Those claims formed part of the evidence behind the additional charges involving neglect and the handling of physical evidence.

The State Attorney’s Office said prosecutors also believed Noah had been deprived of adequate food before the fatal assault. He weighed 62 pounds, placing him near the bottom of the growth range for boys his age, the office said. Investigators photographed a refrigerator containing food inside the home. Assistant State Attorney Julia Lynch described Noah after the sentencing as a child who had been singled out within the household. Her statement framed the prosecution as a case not only about one fatal beating but also about a longer course of isolation and mistreatment.

Dubose faced a separate prosecution for her role in Noah’s death. In 2023, she entered a plea agreement and received a 30-year prison sentence for aggravated manslaughter of a child, aggravated child abuse and child neglect causing great bodily harm. Prosecutors said she had repeated opportunities to seek help while Noah’s health declined but did not do so. She later acknowledged that when the family departed for Connecticut, she knew Noah was either dead or in grave danger, according to court reporting.

Godleski once appeared prepared to resolve his case through a plea agreement in 2023, around the time Dubose was sentenced. He then rejected the proposed deal in court, saying, “Yeah, I guess. Yeah,” when a judge asked whether he was turning down the offer. That decision kept the prosecution active for nearly three more years. The later agreement entered in July 2026 included a reduced murder charge but required a prison term that will keep Godleski incarcerated for decades.

Noah’s biological mother, Rebecca Powell, had publicly expressed anger after his death about earlier opportunities to recognize that he might have been in danger. She said she had repeatedly tried to contact Dubose and regain access to her son after being shut out of his life. Powell also pointed to a reported 2020 complaint by a teacher to the Florida Department of Children and Families and questioned why Noah’s removal from school did not produce further intervention. The agency was reviewing aspects of the case after Noah’s death, according to reporting at the time.

The sentencing completes the principal criminal cases against both adults identified as Noah’s caregivers when he died. Dubose is serving her 30-year sentence, and Godleski now faces 38 years in state prison. The plea eliminated the planned August trial and closed the possibility of a first-degree murder verdict, but Henderson’s remarks made clear that the court accepted the negotiated resolution with reservations about whether any fixed term could match the severity of Noah’s treatment and death.

Author note: Last updated Aug. 3, 2026.