NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A Connecticut man was charged on Thursday after his infant daughter was found unresponsive in the bathtub of a motel room, prosecutors said.
Milford police responded to a call from the Mayflower Motel in Milford at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday after cleaning staff found an unresponsive infant lying in the bathtub of a vacated room.
Officers at the scene performed CPR on the infant until paramedics arrived. The infant was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital but was pronounced dead.
An investigation revealed that Dale Kirkland, 31, of Bridgeport had been renting the room where the infant was found and had checked out on the morning of Aug. 21. Prosecutors believe that Kirkland came to the motel with the infant a day before and he checked out without taking the baby with him.
The baby was Kirkland’s three-month-old daughter, Leilani, according to court documents obtained by the Connecticut Post. An autopsy has not yet determined the infant's cause of death and more studies are needed, a spokesperson for the medical examiner told the post.
Police were able to locate Kirkland in Bridgeport with the assistance of the Bridgeport Police Department.
He was taken into custody and transported to Milford Police Headquarters where he was charged with risk of injury to a minor and cruelty to persons.
He is currently being held on a $1 million bond.