Dad suffocated infant after threatening she was 'going to be a dead baby' if she kept crying, police say

A 30-year-old Ohio antheral is accused of sidesplitting his 4-month-old girl aft months of abuse, allegedly suffocating the babe by swaddling her truthful tightly she could not breathe.

Marcellaus Nekie Malone was taken into custody past week aft being indicted connected 1 number each of murder, involuntary manslaughter, and home unit arsenic good arsenic 7 counts of endangering children successful transportation with the December 2025 decease of his daughter, authorities announced.

Officers with the Milford Township Police Department responded to Malone's flat connected Dec. 11, 2025, successful effect to a study of an unresponsive infant, according to a transcript of the indictment obtained by Law&Crime.

Upon arriving astatine the address, exigency aesculapian unit attempted lifesaving measures but were incapable to revive the infant. They transported her to a section infirmary wherever she was pronounced dead.

The preliminary probe allegedly revealed that Malone had been engaged successful an escalating "pattern of abuse" that stretched backmost astatine slightest 2 months. Surveillance footage recovered from the location besides showed him behaving successful an progressively abusive mode toward his daughter. From the release:

Investigators discovered a video of Malone making threats to the baby, telling her that she was "going to beryllium a dormant baby," and that helium was going to flip her connected the furniture if she "p—ed [him] off." It was further revealed that arsenic a punishment for crying, Malone would tightly swaddle the infant, including her head, to the constituent she could not respire and would walk out. He told her that if she wanted to halt getting swaddled similar that, she would person to halt crying. Not lone would Malone chopped disconnected the baby's breathing arsenic a effect of her fussing, but connected astatine slightest 1 occasion, helium punched the babe successful the look for crying, causing a important bruise.

The nighttime of the child's death, authorities said the babe had been "particularly fussy." After the child's parent swaddled her appropriately, Malone took the kid and placed her successful a bassinet successful different country and "was the past idiosyncratic to spot the babe alive."

"The infant's autopsy revealed nary different crushed for her death, but documented arsenic a contributory origin of death, a '[r]eported past of occlusion of the chemoreceptor and rima by swaddling of the assemblage and head,'" the merchandise said.

Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve said the allegations against Malone are "unthinkable."

"Children are our astir precious gifts. It is unthinkable that this guiltless kid could person been treated successful specified a callous and evil manner," helium said. "This Office is dedicated to holding accountable those who would bash specified unspeakable unit to our county's astir vulnerable."

Malone is presently being held successful the Clermont County Jail connected $1 cardinal bond. He is scheduled to look successful tribunal for his adjacent proceeding connected April 27.

If convicted connected the charges helium presently faces, Malone faces a maximum condemnation of beingness successful prison, prosecutors said.