VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A Daytona Beach man accused of beating his 5-week-old daughter to death will stay in jail.
Dajaun Patrick was in court this afternoon after being returned to Volusia County from Jacksonville following a one-year investigation.
The sheriff’s office said what Dajaun Patrick did to his own baby was horrific. She had severe trauma and broken bones and was only kept alive on life support for about 20 days.
He was arrested on Tuesday and made his first court appearance on Friday afternoon. Sheriff Mike Chitwood said to this day, Patrick denies killing his daughter.
“He says he tripped over a duffel bag and fell on the baby. Again, all of the medical people say this is impossible. This is blunt force that was used to break those ribs. There was a handprint on her from being smacked so hard,” said Chitwood.
The only other people who were in the house was a 4-year-old and the baby’s mom, but investigators say she had medical issues that kept her in bed so Patrick was caring for their baby girl.
Chitwood said that over the course of the investigation, Patrick sent emails to detectives telling them to leave him alone and even shared a GoFundMe page seeking support.
“How much of a psychopath can you be? You know in your heart what you did. You know that little baby is dead. You took her life away, and then you tried to profit off her. I mean, I think that says it all about what a scumbag this is,” said Chitwood.
Patrick is facing an aggravated manslaughter of a child charge.
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