"Caretaking" boyfriend suspected of killing 18-month-old girl (Licking, Missouri)

The 18-month-old girl was reportedly in the care of her mother's UNNAMED BOYFRIEND when she sustained a severe head injury. She died the next day. Here's a case where making a meaningful distinction betweeen a boyfriend and a dad is pretty difficult, since the unnamed boyfriend appears to have been functioning as a father surrogate--however you want to define that--while the baby daddy was in prison.

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20090813/NEWS01/908130361/18-month-old+girl+dies+following+head+injury

18-month-old girl dies following head injury
August 13, 2009

A toddler from Texas County died Wednesday at a Springfield hospital, a day after emergency responders were called to her home and found her unresponsive, officials said.

Texas County Sheriff Carl Watson would not release the name of the 18-month-old girl, but said he would release it today .

Watson said the child had been in the care of her mother's boyfriend and either the boyfriend or the mother placed the 911 call about 5 p.m. Tuesday.

An ambulance was dispatched to the home, about three miles east of Licking off Missouri 32.
When ambulance crews arrived they found the child non-responsive. "When our deputies arrived, they thought she was dead at the time," Watson said.

Asked if there were obvious signs of trauma, Watson said the child had a closed head injury. He would not elaborate.

The child was taken to a hospital in Texas County, then airlifted to Cox South in Springfield, where she was placed on life support. She died at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Watson.

Besides the 18-month-old girl, there were two other children in the home at the time of the 911 call, Watson said. Watson said the parents of the child were known to law enforcement officials but did not elaborate.

The biological father of the child is in prison.