Inset: Dontaevian Murray in court (KING/YouTube). Background: The Seattle home where Dontaevian Murray allegedly killed his infant daughter (Google Maps).
A Washington state dad is accused of "violently and intentionally" shaking his 4-month-old daughter so aggressively that she suffered "near immediate" brain swelling, retinal hemorrhaging and bleeding within her brain before dying days later.
Dontaevian Marques Murray, 22, of Seattle, is charged with second-degree murder for the Sept. 12 death of his daughter.
Court documents obtained by Law&Crime describe how "this tiny helpless infant suffered irreparable brain damage," which ultimately led to her "tragic death" at the hands of her own father, according to prosecutors.
"The doctors at Seattle Children's Hospital stated that the severity of her injuries were comparable to having fallen out of a several story building, or having been in a motor vehicle collision where she was ejected from the car," wrote a King County prosecuting attorney in a Sept. 18 bail request. "The violent and tragic killing of this tiny baby girl demonstrates the danger the defendant poses to the community."
Seattle firefighters were called to Murray's home shortly before 3 a.m. on Sept. 4 after the victim was found unresponsive and not breathing.
Murray told Seattle Police detectives that he "checked on her" and found that the child "was pale, her lips were blue, and she was having trouble breathing, taking short gasping breaths which he mimicked for detectives," according to a probable cause affidavit. "He also noted her eyes were unusual," the document says. "One eye was open and one was mostly squinted shut. Neither eye was tracking or responsive to movement."
Murray told police that he "picked her up and shook her up and down, miming holding [the daughter] cradled against his torso with both arms and lightly bouncing her up and down," according to the affidavit.
Murray allegedly said he ran upstairs to get his mother, who began performing CPR as they called 911. The baby was rushed to Seattle Children's Hospital, where doctors discovered numerous issues.
"She had bleeding behind her eyes and the pressure in her skull was so great that her brain was herniating," the affidavit says. "Further, [the victim] has hemorrhages in multiple layers of all quadrants of both eyes that were too numerous to count[.]."
Doctors determined that the severity of the girl's injuries could not be explained by a natural condition or an accident, according to police. She remained hospitalized for eight days before she died on Sept. 12. Murray was charged six days later.
While speaking with police, Murray allegedly claimed he fell while holding the victim as he went up the stairs with the girl on the day she was hospitalized. He said he had the child in "both hands and fell on his arms, sliding a little, before getting up and going upstairs," according to the complaint.
"He stated [the victim] did not fall out of his arms when he stumbled and he landed on his arms which were cradling her," the complaint says.
Murray has pleaded not guilty.
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