Dad arrested for suffocating 6-month-old daughter (Lexington, South Carolina)

Dad CHRISTOPHER JASON ELROD has been arrested on charges that he suffocated his 6-month-old daughter.

http://www.thestate.com/crime/story/902857.html

Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009
Father arrested in baby daughter’s death

A 30-year-old Lexington man was arrested Friday on a charge he suffocated his 6-month-old daughter in December, Lexington County Sheriff James Metts said in a release.

Detectives arrested Christopher Jason Elrod about 5 p.m. at his Louisa Lane home on a warrant charging him with homicide by child abuse, Metts said. He is in the county jail, pending a bail hearing.

The warrant alleges that on the evening of Dec. 7, Elrod held his daughter, Calen Cade Elrod, tightly against his upper body, obstructing her ability to breathe, Metts said.

The final autopsy report showed Calen died as a result of being suffocated, said Lexington County Coroner Harry Harman. The manner in which the infant was suffocated remained under investigation after the Dec. 8 autopsy, Metts said.

Her father was arrested after investigators interviewed him Friday afternoon, Metts said.

The investigation was conducted jointly by the sheriff’s department, coroner’s office and State Law Enforcement Division, Metts said.