HUNTINGTON COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) — A man faces up to 40 years in prison after he was found guilty Friday of neglect that led to an 8-year-old's death in 2022. After a week-long trial, a jury in Huntington Circuit Court found Matthew Dirig guilty of neglect of a dependent resulting in death, a Level 1 felony. Police began investigating Nov. 22, 2022, when the child's mother reported she had found him with a zip tie around his neck, according to court documents in the case. Medics pronounced the boy dead at the scene. When police questioned Dirig, then 32, he said the boy was being "difficult" so Dirig put him in a bedroom and locked it from the outside. Based on security footage, police estimated the child had been locked inside for about two hours, according to court documents. The mother said she wasn't home when that happened and wasn't sure if Dirig ever checked on the boy after that. Dirig even admitted he “got sidetracked” and was too busy playing video games to check on the boy or respond to a text from the mother asking how her son was doing, according to court documents. Dirig could be handed between 20 and 40 years behind bars at his sentencing, which is scheduled for Dec. 17.