The father has pleaded not guilty after prosecutors added aggravated murder and other charges.
UTICA, Ohio — Court records in an Ohio infant death case describe an alleged admission, medical signs of asphyxia and a pacifier prosecutors say became the instrument that killed a 4-month-old girl.
The records are central to the prosecution of Chance Terrence Topp, 29, who is accused of killing his daughter, R.T., inside a Crestview Drive home in October 2023. Topp has pleaded not guilty to 13 charges after a superseding indictment added aggravated murder and murder counts to a case first announced as involuntary manslaughter. The dispute now turns on whether jurors accept the state’s claim that Topp acted with force and intent, or whether the defense can raise doubt about the state’s evidence.
The first account investigators received from Topp was not the account prosecutors now plan to present at trial. He told detectives he had fallen asleep after putting the infant in her crib. He said he woke when he heard gasping, removed the baby from the crib and tried CPR. He did not call 911 himself, according to investigators. The baby was found unresponsive after officers and deputies were sent to the home around 7:32 p.m. on Oct. 13, 2023. Emergency medical personnel took her to Licking Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead after staff noted injuries that raised concern.
The medical record described injuries that investigators say did not match a simple sleep emergency. Hospital staff and medics reported bruising on the baby’s jawline and a horizontal mark on her neck. One paramedic told investigators the mark looked like injuries he had seen during strangulation training, not during routine emergency calls. An autopsy later found the cause of death was asphyxia. Prosecutors said the baby also had severe cerebral edema and petechiae, which they described as indicators of suffocation or strangulation. The Licking County Coroner’s Office ultimately ruled the manner of death a homicide.
The alleged admission came later, after interviews, testing and search warrants stretched the investigation across 20 months. Prosecutors said that in a 2025 interview, Topp acknowledged that he smoked delta-8 THC in the room with the infant because he wanted to calm himself. Toxicology results showed the baby tested positive for 11-carboxy-delta-8 THC. When detectives asked about the bruising on the jawline, Topp allegedly said he had held a pacifier over the child’s mouth and nose while trying to get her to sleep. Prosecutors say he admitted the pressure was too hard and lasted too long.
The state’s theory is direct. Investigators allege the baby was fussy and crying, Topp wanted to go back to sleep and he became frustrated. They say he pressed the pacifier with enough force to block the child’s airway. The court filing states that the pressure against the baby’s mouth was excessive enough to stop her breathing. Prosecutors also point to the bruising on the jawline as evidence of force. What remains unknown publicly is the full defense response to each medical conclusion, each alleged statement and the state’s claim that the act was purposeful rather than reckless or accidental.
Witness statements from relatives added pressure to Topp’s original account. Family members said they heard the child screaming before emergency services were called and that they confronted Topp inside the home. They said they yelled, “What did you do?” after the baby became a focus of alarm. The grandmother told investigators that she had offered to help care for the infant and that Topp refused. She also described him as a “night owl” who stayed up late playing video games, drinking alcohol and using drugs. Prosecutors have used those accounts to build a picture of the hours before the baby died.
Assistant Prosecutor Tyler McCoy said the case required a long investigation by the Licking County Sheriff’s Office because Topp gave deceptive statements. McCoy said Topp had been interviewed several times before he admitted, after his arrest, that he put too much force on the baby’s mouth with the pacifier and that she became unresponsive. Prosecutors also allege Topp later said during a recorded Christmas Day jail call that his 2025 statement to investigators was true and that he had lied earlier. Those statements are expected to be a major issue if the case proceeds to trial.
The indictment now pending in Licking County includes aggravated murder, two counts of murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of endangering children, felonious assault, strangulation, reckless homicide, two counts of domestic violence and falsification. Topp pleaded not guilty at a May 19 hearing after the new charges were filed. His bond was reduced from a previously reported $2 million to $200,000. The broad list of charges reflects the state’s effort to account for the baby’s death, alleged abuse, alleged false statements and different possible findings about Topp’s state of mind.
Behind the filings, the family has described a baby remembered for joy rather than court initials. Amy Richter, the child’s grandmother, said the family called her “Our Smiley Riley.” She said the world lost many smiles when the baby died. Her statement gives the case a personal frame that will not decide legal guilt but may shape how the loss is understood outside the courtroom. In court, the question remains narrower: what the evidence proves about the final moments inside the home and Topp’s responsibility for them.
The case stands with Topp jailed on bond and a jury trial set for July 27. Prosecutors are expected to rely on the autopsy, toxicology findings, family statements and alleged admissions as they seek to prove the charges.
Author note: Last updated June 18, 2026.