A 28-year-old man has been charged with capital murder in the death of his girlfriend’s 18-month-old daughter.
The 18-month-old girl was taken by ambulance to DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa about 3 a.m. after she reportedly stopped breathing, said Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit Capt. Jack Kennedy.
Police and medical first responders believed that the child’s condition was suspicious, he said, and immediately launched an investigation to possible child abuse or neglect.
Efforts to revive the girl failed. Her body was taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery for an autopsy.
Donations to her GoFundMe can be made here.
Kennedy said the preliminary autopsy showed extensive injuries to the child. Her name is Raylean Richardson.
The girl’s mother and her live-in boyfriend, Joseph Earl Jenkins, were taken in for questioning. The day-long probe included not only interviews with the mother and Jenkins, but also search warrants at the home at Hay Court apartments, other interviews and medical consults.
Friday evening, investigators obtained a capital murder for Jenkins. He is being held without bond.
Kennedy said multiple agencies helped in the investigation including the Tuscaloosa Police Department Criminal Investigations Division, the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Mortuary Transport Unit, DCH, the Tuscaloosa County Department of Human Resources, ADFS, and the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney’s Office.
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