Topeka ? A Topeka man pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 death of his 9-month-old son.

Twenty-nine-year-old Casey D. Ferguson entered the plea Tuesday just before a trial was to begin in the death of Christopher R. Scott. Sentencing was scheduled for Feb. 23.

Topeka police have declined to discuss the case other than to say the baby died of asphyxiation while in Ferguson’s care.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Ferguson had been jailed since his arrest in March 2010. But he was released Tuesday on his own recognizance pending sentencing.