Inset: Bobby R. Conner (Davidson County Sheriff's Office). Background: The area in Nashville where Conner allegedly killed a 4-month-old girl (Google Maps).
A 32-year-old man in Tennessee is accused of killing his girlfriend's 4-month-old daughter after the infant suffered severe head injuries that doctors said were indicative of abuse and violent shaking.
Bobby Randall Conner Jr., who previously served time for child neglect and child abuse convictions, is now facing one count of murder in the slaying of Nevaeh Petty, authorities announced.
Conner had initially been charged with aggravated child abuse, but that charge was upgraded after Nevaeh was declared brain-dead following several days on life support at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.
According to a news release from the Metro Nashville Police Department, officers responded to a home on 24th Avenue North shortly before 5 p.m. on Sept. 19 regarding a report of an infant in distress.
Upon arriving, first responders found Nevaeh unresponsive and rushed her to Vanderbilt in "very critical condition." Doctors later reported serious internal head injuries, including retinal hemorrhaging, which police said were clear signs of abuse.
In an interview, Conner allegedly told police he had been "lying in bed with the child while her mother was at work." He said he "got up to use the restroom, and upon his return noticed she was unresponsive."
The infant remained on life support for four days before she was declared brain-dead Wednesday.
Nevaeh's father, Edward Wagner, spoke to local NBC affiliate WSMV about Conner, saying, "Based on the results, he shook my daughter."
Wagner said he knew about Conner's criminal history and warned Nevaeh's mother, Jessica Petty, about allowing him around the baby. He also said he repeatedly raised concerns with the Tennessee Department of Children's Services.
"I told Jessica [Petty], who is the mother, it was not a good idea for him to be around my daughter," Wagner told WSMV.
Wagner raised his concerns about Conner with the Department of Children's Services (DCS), which performed a welfare check and found Nevaeh unharmed.
"The response from Miss Jenae, a case worker, was that he [Conner] was not a sex offender and was okay to be around his daughter," Wagner told the station.
Petty gave a similar explanation, saying she left Nevaeh with Conner because DCS had approved it.
"I didn't do anything to my daughter," she told local CBS affiliate WTVF. "I was okayed by DCS to leave her with him. And if anything DCS should answer why they allowed him to be around my kid."
Asked whether she believed it was a risk to leave Nevaeh with Conner, given his criminal history, Petty reportedly responded, "No comment."
Conner was convicted of child abuse in August 2020 and served a four-year sentence. He was later convicted of child neglect stemming from a March 2025 arrest, receiving a one-year sentence, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department, and was released in August 2026.
Conner is being detained at the Downtown Detention Center on $500,000 bond, but the jail website notes that he is not currently eligible for release.
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