Background: The building in DeLand, Fla., that houses the Volusia County Sheriff's Office (Google Maps). Inset: Dajuan Patrick (Volusia County Sheriff's Office).
A Florida man is being held without bond after police said he caused the death of his 5-week-old baby girl.
Dajuan Patrick, 27, was arrested in Jacksonville on a warrant out of Volusia County charging him with aggravated manslaughter in connection with the death of his baby daughter, 5-week-old Dahlia Siebenhaar. According to a press release from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, Dahlia died in December 2024 after she was placed on life support due to several traumatic injuries.
Over a year after her death, her father was accused of being responsible for causing those injuries.
Dahlia was first admitted to the hospital on Dec. 2, 2024, after being found unresponsive. Her injuries were so severe that she was put on life support. After she never regained consciousness, she was taken off life support on Dec. 12, 2024, and passed away.
Police said that according to medical records and an autopsy, Dahlia suffered from "extensive head trauma, broken ribs, bruising across her body, and retinal hemorrhages due to being shaken and held with extreme force."
After investigators spoke with several people with knowledge of Dahlia's living situation, police determined that Patrick was known to shake and spank the newborn baby girl. Police said Patrick was the one who caused the fatal injuries.
Patrick was arrested while in Jacksonville and remains in custody with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. He is being held without bond and is expected to face a charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child in Volusia County.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in the press release, "The arrest in this case won't bring Dahlia back or give her the childhood she deserved, but today we're speaking up for her, because her life mattered."