The Dec. 11 response at a Milford apartment led investigators from CPR efforts to an indictment alleging months of abuse.
BATAVIA, Ohio — What began as a 911 call for a baby who was not breathing has become a murder case against the child’s father in Clermont County, Ohio.
Marcellaus Nekie Malone, 30, is accused of killing his 4-month-old daughter after prosecutors said investigators found video, medical and timeline evidence that she had been abused for at least two months. A grand jury indicted him April 21 on felony murder, involuntary manslaughter, domestic violence and seven counts of endangering children. He pleaded not guilty the next day, and bond was set at $3 million, according to later court reports from the arraignment.
The first public action known in the case came in the early hours of Dec. 11, 2025. Milford police and emergency medical personnel were sent to Malone’s apartment after the baby’s mother reported that the infant was unresponsive. Reports of the 911 call said the mother told a dispatcher that the baby was female and was not breathing. The mother said she had performed CPR and that the child’s father was doing it then. First responders continued lifesaving efforts, but the baby was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
At that point, officials had a death to explain, not yet a public homicide charge. Investigators built the case over the following months by looking at the final night, the way the baby had been wrapped and what prosecutors say was happening in the home before the emergency call. The prosecutor’s office said the child had been especially fussy that night. Her mother had swaddled her appropriately, prosecutors said, before Malone took her into another room and put her in a bassinet. Prosecutors said he was the last person to see the baby alive.
The autopsy later became one of the main reasons the case moved toward indictment. Prosecutors said the medical examiner found no other reason for the infant’s death and documented a reported history of the nose and mouth being blocked by swaddling of the body and head. The phrasing released by the prosecutor’s office described that history as a contributory cause of death. Authorities did not publicly release the full autopsy report, and they did not identify the hospital where the child died in the summaries reviewed for this story.
Investigators also said the fatal night fit a pattern. The prosecutor’s office said home video showed Malone threatening the baby while she cried. In court, Clermont County Assistant Prosecutor Nick Horton said Malone told the infant she was “going to be a dead baby” and threatened to toss her on the bed if she made him angry. Prosecutors said the recording and other evidence showed that Malone used tight swaddling as punishment, wrapping the child’s body and head so she could not breathe and would pass out.
The indictment accuses Malone not only of conduct tied to the death, but of repeated endangerment before it. The seven child-endangerment counts suggest prosecutors believe they can identify more than one episode that put the baby at risk. They also allege Malone punched the infant in the face at least once because she was crying, leaving a significant bruise. The public record does not say exactly when that alleged assault occurred, who saw the bruise or whether any medical treatment was sought for it before the baby died.
Clermont County Prosecutor Mark J. Tekulve announced the charges from Batavia, the county seat east of Cincinnati. He said the allegations showed a child had been treated in a “callous and evil manner.” Tekulve said, “Children are our most precious gifts,” and said his office was dedicated to holding accountable anyone who committed violence against vulnerable children. His office said Malone could face life in prison if convicted on the charges he now faces.
The charge list gives prosecutors several routes through the evidence. Felony murder focuses on whether a death happened during alleged conduct that qualifies as an underlying felony. Involuntary manslaughter focuses on whether criminal conduct caused the death without requiring the same proof of purpose. Domestic violence covers alleged harm within the household, and the endangering counts address alleged risk to the child over time. Together, the counts show that the state is not relying only on the medical result. It is also asking the court to consider the conduct prosecutors say came before it.
The case has also produced changing public details as it moved through court. Initial reports around the indictment said Malone was being held in the Clermont County Jail on $1 million bond and had an April 27 court date. Reports after his April 22 court appearance said he pleaded not guilty and that a judge set bond at $3 million. Those later accounts also said the case was due back in court in May. The difference appears to reflect bond information before and after the arraignment.
No report reviewed for this story says the mother has been charged. A local report from the hearing said she was not in court and that prosecutors said she was pregnant again. Public accounts describe her role on the final night as swaddling the baby properly, calling 911 and reporting CPR efforts. Prosecutors have not said whether she gave a formal statement, whether she witnessed earlier alleged abuse or whether she will testify if the case goes to trial.
The investigation has not answered every question in public. Officials have not said how much time passed between Malone placing the baby in the bassinet and the mother finding her unresponsive. They have not said whether any monitor, camera or other device captured the final moments. They have not released the baby’s name in the main public statements. They also have not said whether the defense disputes the autopsy interpretation or whether independent medical review will be sought.
For jurors, the medical language may be one of the hardest parts of the case. Prosecutors have used the phrase occlusion of the nose and mouth, which means blocked breathing. The state will likely try to explain that through the autopsy and through testimony about how the baby was allegedly wrapped. The defense may press whether the finding identifies a cause with certainty or reflects information investigators supplied to the medical examiner. Malone’s not guilty plea means the allegations must be tested in court. Prosecutors will have to connect the emergency call, the autopsy, the alleged video threats and the child-endangerment claims into proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The defense can challenge the reliability of the evidence and the meaning of the medical findings. Until a plea or verdict, the indictment remains an accusation, not a finding of legal guilt.
The case now stands in pretrial proceedings in Clermont County Common Pleas Court. The next hearings are expected to address scheduling, evidence and possible motions. If the case proceeds toward trial, the December 911 call and the April indictment are likely to become the two poles of the state’s case: the moment help was summoned and the moment prosecutors said a crime had been shown.
Author note: Last updated May 17, 2026.