US Marshals have arrested Robert Lee Ingram Jr. and Gracie Jai Tellez in Jacksonville, Florida, for allegedly causing the death of their seven-week-old baby daughter. Ingram, 22, and Tellez, 20, face charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and neglect of a child following an investigation by the Hollywood Police Department.
Arrest warrants were issued for the couple on July 27 by the Circuit Court of the 7th Judicial Circuit in Broward County. Prosecutors allege that the parents violently shook the infant inside their Hollywood home last October.
The parents initially told police officers that their daughter was fed a bottle and placed in her bassinet for a nap shortly before she was found unresponsive. They also claimed that their mobile phones were being used for FaceTime calls to serve as makeshift baby monitors.
Discrepancies in video game activity
An investigation of the couple's mobile devices contradicted their statements to law enforcement. According to an affidavit reported by Local10, forensic downloads showed that the information provided by Tellez and Ingram was not truthful.
Investigators found that the couple used their phones to play Call of Duty and watch YouTube videos in the minutes preceding their call to emergency services. Records indicate that Ingram played Call of Duty overnight from about 5:12 am to 8:39 am on October 14.
Ingram continued playing the game until 11:49 am, while Tellez played until 11:52 am. The parents placed a 911 call regarding their unresponsive daughter at approximately 11:53 am, just one minute after Tellez stopped playing.
The incident occurred at Tellez's home on the 2220 block of Farragut Street in Hollywood, a one-bedroom, one-bathroom residence valued at roughly $365,000. Investigators stated that the small size and layout of the property meant both parents would have been aware of what caused the child's injuries.
Medical findings and cause of death
The seven-week-old infant was considered healthy prior to the incident and had been examined by a pediatrician on October 8, six days before being found unresponsive. Police officers and paramedics performed CPR at the home before emergency services rushed the infant to Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood.
At the hospital, specialists determined that the child suffered a traumatic brain injury, skull fractures, retinal hemorrhaging, and detachment, as reported by CBS12. Medical specialists concluded that these injuries were consistent with non-accidental head trauma caused by violent shaking.
Detectives interviewed both parents and conducted a consensual search of the residence while the child remained in critical condition with signs of internal bleeding. The baby girl was declared brain dead on October 18 and died four days later, on October 22, after being removed from life support.
The Broward County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide caused by complications of blunt head trauma. Homicide investigators subsequently deemed Tellez and Ingram responsible for the infant's death.
Investigation and flight to Jacksonville
Police officers reported that Ingram provided differing accounts of the events surrounding his daughter's death. Investigators stated that he gave conflicting details regarding when the baby was fed and placed in her bassinet, and he provided a different version during a reenactment of the event.
The US Marshals Service stated that Tellez and Ingram subsequently left Broward County and traveled to Jacksonville. A team from the Florida Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force located the couple in the 1300 block of Marsh Grass Court.
US Marshals arrested the pair last Friday, and authorities booked them into the Duval County Jail before extraditing them back to Broward County on Thursday.
Court appearance and detention
Ingram and Tellez appeared in court on Friday, where they invoked their right to remain silent, according to CBS News. The presiding judge ordered both parents to have no contact with any children during their initial hearing.
As of Saturday, Tellez is being held without bond at the Broward Sheriff's Office North Broward Bureau, according to arrest records. Ingram is also being held without bond at the Paul Rein Detention Facility in Pompano Beach.
The Daily Mail reached out to the Broward County State Attorney's Office for comment regarding the case.
