A 15-month-old girl critically injured after a Piqua man reportedly slammed her on the floor earlier this month has died.
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The toddler, Vivian Gardner, died on Dec. 19 at Dayton Children’s Hospital, according to the Montgomery County Coroners Office.
The girl “passed away as a result of the injuries inflicted upon her by” Michael Mayor, court documents filed on Dec. 20 stated.
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As News Center 7 previously reported, the child was hospitalized after being found breathing but unresponsive on Dec. 5.
A babysitter told dispatchers that a 1-year-old girl was “pale, had bruises on her head, and she was unsure of where they came from,” according to a Piqua police report.
The toddler was flown to Dayton Children’s Hospital for treatment. A doctor there later told police that she had suffered a fracture in the rear of her skull, had a subdural hematoma, and other “complex” injuries that were caused by a “massive impact.”
The toddler had been dropped off at the babysitter’s on the morning of Dec. 5. The babysitter left her with Mayor and other kids while she took some of the children to school. While the babysitter was gone, Mayor had reportedly tried to put the girl for a nap on the bedroom floor. When she got back, the girl was on the bedroom floor and appeared to be sleeping.
The babysitter checked on the girl multiple times during the day and noted she appeared to be okay and breathing but was concerned that she had not woken up by 3 p.m. At that point, she tried to wake the girl up and found that she was unresponsive.
Police spoke with prosecutors and they decided Mayor should be arrested and charged since he was the last person with the child.
While being interviewed by police, Mayor admitted to injuring the child after she wouldn’t stop crying while he was trying to put her down for a nap.
“He stated he ‘shook’ her and when she cried louder, he began to ‘slam’ her on the floor of the bedroom,” the police report stated. “He stated this was not done on the blankets and he did this several times until she stopped crying.”
Mayor thought at that point that she had fallen asleep, so he put her down and walked away.
Mayor has been indicted on felonious assault and endangering children, according to court documents. News Center 7 has contacted the Miami County Prosecutor’s Office to see if more charges will be filed against Mayor. We have not received a response at the time of this report.
He remains booked in the Miami County Jail.
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