SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) - A Sioux City man accused of fatally injuring his girlfriend's 19-month-old daughter has pleaded not guilty.
Tayvon Davis entered written pleas Thursday to charges of first-degree murder, child endangerment resulting in death and child endangerment, according to Woodbury County court records. The records don't show a trial starting date.
Davis was living with his girlfriend from July 1 through Aug. 22 last year and frequently provided child care for her daughter, the records say. He took the little girl to a local hospital on Aug. 22, and she was transferred to an Omaha, Nebraska, hospital. She was 19 months old when she died on Aug. 25, 2018.
An autopsy showed the girl had several blunt force injuries to her head and a kidney and had suffered fractures to her vertebrae and ribs. Davis told investigators he had dropped the girl while giving her a bath.
Investigations of child deaths because of suspected abuse often take months because of the wait for medical records and test results and the need to interview several potential witnesses, police have said.