LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A man has been charged with murder following the death of a one-year-old, according to Louisville Metro Police.
Derrick Taylor, 29, was taken into custody Tuesday.
Officials say Taylor pleaded not guilty in court on Wednesday.
His bond is set at $750,000. If he posts bond, officials say, he will be placed on home incarceration and ordered to have no contact with the witnesses family.
The case stems from a Nov. 2 incident where Second Division officers responded to a home in the 1000 block of South Third Street after reports of one-year-old Christen Lovett short of air.
CPR was being conducted on Lovett and he was later taken to Norton Hospital where he later died.
A further examination by medical staff showed there was more to the story.
In arrest records, medical staff told police there were “multiple injuries indicative of abuse,” which included “two skull fractures, a brain bleed, blood in his diaper and from his rectum and a fractured finger.”
After a post-mortem exam conducted on Nov. 3, staff said there was more evidence of trauma including “several contusions to the child’s head, bruising on his back and laceration to his liver.”
The medical examiner determined Lovett's death as a homicide as a result of blunt force trauma.
In an interview with police, Taylor allegedly told investigators he was home alone with Lovett during the time he began showing “signs of distress prior to calling 911.” He also told them Lovett had been “behaving normally that day and had been having difficulty breathing” before calling 911.
Police said based on the post-mortem exam, statements from Lovett's mom, Taylor and EMS records, Lovett had head injuries resulting in his death during the time Taylor was alone with him and could only have attributed to blunt force trauma.
Taylor is also facing additional charges of escape and fleeing and evading police after trying to escape from the jail. Police said he walked out of an opened door while in handcuffs.
Officers quickly caught up with Taylor and took him back into custody.
His pretrial hearing is scheduled for Feb. 27 at 9:15 a.m.
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