Jury reaches verdict in case of Highland father accused of killing infant son
It took a Madison County jury three hours to decide that a Highland father killed his 3-month-old son by causing blunt-force trauma to the baby’s chest and head three years ago.
The seven women and five men found Dustin Shires, 41, guilty of first-degree murder on Thursday afternoon at the Madison County Criminal Justice Center in Edwardsville.
“This case was overwhelmingly proven,” said State’s Attorney Tom Haine. “No one wants to believe that a father could do that to his son, but in this case, there was no other explanation for what happened.”
Haine said Shires exhibited “cold-hearted” behavior when talking to first responders about baby Jameson’s death on March 14, 2023, lied to police investigators and showed a “complete lack of emotion” during the nearly two-week trial.
“These are not normal reactions by a parent,” he said.
Assistant State’s Attorney Luke Yager had told jurors in his opening statement on Feb. 4 that Shires “lost his cool” because he was tired and frustrated that the baby had woken him up after he returned to home from an overnight shift cleaning carpets.
Shires reportedly told authorities that, after trying to get Jameson to go back to sleep, he took a 15-minute smoke break outside and returned to find that the baby had aspirated on formula and stopped breathing.
Haine described the trial as more lengthy and complicated than most because of its heavy reliance on medical records and testimony.
“We brought in overwhelming medical evidence,” he said. “Multiple doctors all agreed as to what happened here, and they brought in a medical expert who frankly changed (her) diagnosis midway through the trial.”
Shires was the only person home at the time of Jameson’s death. His wife, Brittany, had left to take their 4-year-old daughter to school.
The baby was transferred from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Highland to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, where he was pronounced dead at 6:09 p.m.
Prosecutors argued that an autopsy revealed injuries to Jameson’s head and chest, including broken ribs and retinal hemorrhaging, that were consistent with someone violently shaking a baby.
Shires was represented by a team of defense attorneys from Dallas, Texas. They left the Criminal Justice Center quickly after the verdict and couldn’t be reached for comment.
In his opening statement, lead defense attorney Chris Lewis alleged that authorities jumped to conclusions about Shires’ guilt before seeing autopsy results and failed to consider other explanations for Jameson’s death.
Lewis told jurors that they would notice in audio and video recordings that Shires is slow to speak and process information and isn’t very “emotionally expressive,” but that doesn’t mean he committed murder.
“Awkwardness does not show criminal intent,” Lewis said.
Lewis said the pathologist who performed Jameson’s autopsy in the St. Louis City Medical Examiner’s Office was still in training. She didn’t testify at the trial. Other medical experts referred to her notes and gave opinions on what caused the baby’s death.
The defense called as a witness another pathologist, who had performed a second autopsy on Jameson and discussed “medical vulnerabilities” that could have led to his death.
Lewis said Brittany Shires told police that her husband didn’t have a short temper or history of physical abuse, and that neither of them had done anything to hurt their son.
“Everyone involved in this case wishes that Jameson Shires was alive today, and that includes Dustin Shires,” Lewis said.
On April 6, 2023, the state’s attorney’s office charged Shires with two counts of first-degree murder. He’s been held in the Madison County Jail for nearly three years on a $3 million bond.
Beyond medical evidence, prosecutors focused on what they characterized as unusual behavior by Shires, who called his mother and asked her to call 911 instead of calling himself. The dispatcher, who served as the prosecution’s first witness, then called Shires.
Yager said Shires put the dispatcher on hold, delaying her ability to provide CPR instructions before an ambulance arrived, and he referred to the baby as “it” instead of “him,” “he” or “my son” more than 20 times while talking to the dispatcher and first responders.
Yager said family members were texting the same day about hiring a lawyer, and that Shires later told investigators that the baby’s injuries could have been caused by his sister playing too rough with him.
“The only person home with Jameson Shires when he went from a happy, healthy baby to a cold, unresponsive, pale baby was this defendant,” said Yager, who prosecuted the case with Assistant State’s Attorney Alison Foley.
Dustin and Brittany Shires married in 2015, court records show. She filed for divorce in December 2023. A Madison County judge granted it in August 2024, giving her custody of their daughter.
Dustin Shires’ sentencing will take place at a later date. First-degree murder carries a maximum penalty of 60 years in prison upon conviction. On Thursday, Haine said the prosecution team will be discussing its recommendations to Judge Amy Maher.
Haine commended the Highland Police Department, Southern Illinois Child Death Investigation Task Force and other agencies for their strong investigative work in the Shires case.
“It’s just such a horrible case, an infant being battered to death by his own father,” he said. “It’s horrible, but this was justice, and I think everybody in the courtroom could see it.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2026 at 6:14 PM.
