ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A 28-year-old Orange County man appeared in court Wednesday on accusations that he was responsible for the death of his 6-week-old daughter in December 2015.
Ezequiel Mercado was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder last week, was arrested Tuesday and made his first appearance in court Wednesday.
According to investigators, Mercado was watching his 6-week-old daughter, Jayli, on Dec. 9, 2015.
He told deputies that he accidentally woke up the baby and and had her wrapped in a blanket while trying to rock her back to sleep when she tensed up, officials said.
Mercado said he loosened his arms and Jayli started gasping for air, officials said.
He performed CPR on the baby until deputies arrived, investigators said.
Jayli was placed on life support and Mercado was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse on Dec. 16, 2015.
At the time, doctors "did not see any signs of trauma or child abuse," an arrest report said.
Mercado was charged with aggravated child abuse less than a week later.
The baby survived for nearly nine months before dying on Aug. 28, 2016.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office requested an autopsy of the girl after her death and determined that Mercado was responsible for her death, investigators said.
He was being held without bond at the Orange County Jail.
Cox Media Group
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XYX2XFRJ5RCVRAAQDBJU65M6K4.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/AKWLUOASRRGAHLZS2QWVOA7TMU.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/MBZ3BIYHWNHH3DPECEJLUH2SUU.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/2AVKBIIOSNEKTL4PCFRX7FTPYY.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7FGJ566WM5GFFAWFQQ3KAMNNTY.jpg)