A judge has lowered the bond of a Westerville, Ohio man charged with the death of his 4-month-old daughter.
22-year-old Joseph Blair was initially given a $2 million bond following his indictment on murder and child endangerment charges earlier this month.
In a court hearing Wednesday, the judge lowered Blair’s bond to $350,000 after the defense argued that the initial bond amount was too high.
The death of Blair’s daughter Janiya happened after an incident that reportedly occurred on April 5.
Blair reportedly told an officer he was carrying the child, tripped and hit her head against the corner of a couch.
The officer said Blair’s story changed multiple times, but he did admit to knowing the injury was serious. Blair told the officer that he waited approximately 40 minutes before taking her to the hospital.
According to court records, cell phone video, data and surveillance video from St. Ann’s show that the total time appears closer to two hours.
In the report, the officer stated they spoke with the staff at both hospitals and physicians said that the damage to Blair’s daughter does not match the story he gave about how she obtained her injuries.
A spokesperson for the City of Westerville confirmed that the girl passed away on April 10.
Before Janiya’s death, Blair was charged with child endangerment and was ordered to stay away from children.
At his arraignment April 18, Blair pleaded not guilty to murder and child endangerment charges.
Joseph is the son of Westerville City Councilmember Dennis Blair.
In a statement after his initial charge, Joseph’s attorney Dustin Blake said he would never do anything to intentionally harm his child. He added Joseph has been cooperative with authorities.
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