Dad on trial for homicide in beating death of 8-week-old daughter (Butte, Montana)

Dad is identified as MATTHEW JOHN BLAZ. If this was an accident caused by a neighborhood child, then why did Daddy delay treatment for six hours?

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/butte-father-beat-baby-daughter-to-death-prosecutors-say/article_58c724f7-cae7-5b0c-8d63-6bd31b6486f9.html

Butte father beat baby daughter to death, prosecutors say

Matthew John Blaz, 32, is charged with felony deliberate homicide in the death of his 8-week-old daughter, Mattisyn Jolene Blaz.

  May 19, 2014 11:26 am • By ANGELA BRANDT Montana Standard

BUTTE — Prosecutors say a Butte man brutally beat his 58-day-old baby to death. The infant suffered for six hours before receiving any care.

“She could no longer coo. She could no longer smile,” said Butte-Silver Bow deputy county attorney Samm Cox said in opening statements.

Matthew John Blaz, 32, faces a charge of deliberate homicide for his daughter’s killing. Blaz is accused of violent attacking his baby, Mattisyn Jolene Blaz, causing brain trauma and ultimately her death on Aug. 16, 2013.

Attorneys representing Blaz contend that a neighborhood boy dropped the baby and caused the fatal injuries. He has insisted his innocence since day one, they argue.

Prosecutors say an investigation launched after the baby’s death, which was originally reported as an accidental fall, found the infant died of abusive head trauma.

Prosecutors called the dispatcher who received the 911 call that day as their first witness at 2:20 p.m.

Charging documents say Blaz was in sole custody of his daughter at the time of her death. Authorities believe the assault took place about 4 p.m. at Blaz’s home, 2017 S. Arizona St.

Later that day, Blaz was with the baby and her mother in a car at a local business parking lot when they called 911 to report the child wasn’t breathing. The couple was apparently trying to take the child to the hospital, authorities said.

Blaz spent 110 days in jail prior to posting $50,000 bond in January.

If convicted of deliberate homicide, Blaz could spend the rest of his life in prison.