Mom returning to work from maternity leave gives 12-week-old to dad to watch alone 'for the first time' — within hours the infant was dying

Left: Shawn Samuels (Penobscot County Jail). Right: Lyla Samuels (GoFundMe).

A father in Maine who was watching his infant daughter by himself for the first time is now charged with her murder.

Shawn Samuels, 24, was arrested on Jan. 17 after his 12-week-old daughter Lyla was rushed to the hospital the day before. According to Maine State Police, first responders received a 911 call on Jan. 16 about an unresponsive infant. Paramedics were able to revive Lyla and brought her to the hospital for treatment. Police said "[d]ue to the facts and circumstances of the case," detectives were called in to investigate what happened to the baby.

Lyla died on Jan. 18, and her father was charged with murder and domestic violence.

According to an affidavit obtained by local news outlet Bangor Daily News, Samuels was watching Lyla after the girl's mother, Leah Collins, returned to work after maternity leave. He told police that he was feeding Lyla when she reportedly stopped breathing. He burped the baby and she began breathing again, but she was still unresponsive.

The Boston Globe reported that when a relative called 911, they told dispatchers, "the father of this child is alone with the child for the first time."

When police questioned Samuels about how he handled Lyla, he told them that he had not dropped or shaken her, or done anything to hurt her. He admitted to bouncing the little girl up and down on his knee and swinging her from side to side in his arms. Police asked Samuels if he could have injured Lyla by bouncing her, and he allegedly responded, "Yeah."

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An autopsy revealed that Lyla had four broken ribs, retinal hemorrhages, and bleeding and swelling in her brain. While a cause of death was not released, the medical examiner ruled the manner of death as homicide. The medical examiner told police that the brain bleeding was likely caused by "acceleration-deceleration."

Samuels was initially arrested on Jan. 17 and charged with domestic violence elevated aggravated assault and two counts of violating bail. After Lyla's death, he was charged with murder. He was booked into the Penobscot County Jail where he is being held on $250,000 bond. His next court date is scheduled for Feb. 13.

Collins' family started a GoFundMe to raise money for Lyla's funeral and other expenses.