Alabama father rushed his baby daughter to ER; police have now charged him with her death
Published 1:29 pm Friday, September 17, 2021
An Alabama man who took his 2-month-old daughter to a hospital with serious injuries has been charged in the infant’s death, police said Friday.
Demarcus Smith, 19, of Opelika, was jailed on a murder charge in the death of Maliyah Stormi Smith, Police Chief Shane Healey told a news conference.
Smith took the girl to the emergency room at East Alabama Medical Center on Tuesday, but doctors couldn’t save her, Healey said.
An autopsy showed the child died of head injuries, and an investigation showed the man was caring for her when she was hurt, he said. Smith provided police with details that matched other evidence linking him to the death, Healey said.
“These are the kinds of cases that take a piece of your soul. I want to commend the officers and detectives that worked on this case,” said the chief.
Court records weren’t immediately available to show whether Smith had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.