SEBRING — A Sebring man, formerly charged with murder after his pregnant girlfriend had a miscarriage following complications from an alleged assault, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

For pleading guilty to negligent homicide, a first-degree misdemeanor, Jacob Fullerton, 21, of Tennessee Avenue, will serve 60 days in jail, reduced from 180, and must pay a $1,000 fine. After he is released from jail, he will be on probation for one year.

A woman reported to Sebring police on July 10 that she had been assaulted by her boyfriend, Fullerton, according to a police report.

He was arrested for domestic violence but was released on bail. The report notes that the woman was eight weeks pregnant at the time.

After the alleged assault, the woman began experiencing complications, and four days later, it was determined that a fetal heartbeat no longer was present. The police report said after consulting with the Sebring prosecutor, Gary Van Brocklin, a warrant was issued July 22 for one count of murder, a first-degree felony, and he was arrested again July 23.

On July 29, he again was released on bail, this time with a bond of $50,000. After he appeared in court Thursday and pleaded guilty, he was then again booked into the Mahoning County jail.

Fullerton was facing charges of domestic violence, a fifth-degree felony, and assault, a first-degree misdemeanor, in connection with the July 10 incident. But Van Brocklin dropped these charges last month to pursue the murder charge.