The father of an infant who died on the eve of her second birthday is facing a string of charges in Brooklyn's Supreme Court.
“A precious and innocent child was fatally injured, allegedly at the hands of the person responsible for nurturing and protecting her," said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
"My heart is with the little girl’s family, and we will now seek to hold this defendant accountable.”
Robert Wright, 33, of Brownsville, was arraigned on Dec. 9 before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Donald Leo.
Wright is facing the following charges, following the death of his 23-month-old daughter:
- Second-degree manslaughter
- Second-degree assault
- Criminally negligent homicide
- Endangering the welfare of a child
Investigation details
The charges stem from an investigation on Oct. 4, at 10:30am, in the Brooklyn home he shared with the child and other family members.
According to the investigation results, the defendant hit his daughter in the back of the head with a closed fist.
The father later told investigators he had taken a nap with the child and hit her as he was waking up from a dream.
The victim’s mother returned home and observed that the child was lethargic and bleeding from the mouth.
Once at the Brookdale Hospital, a scan revealed bleeding and swelling to the brain. The child went into cardiac arrest before reaching Cohen Children’s Medical Center.
She was pronounced deceased on Oct. 5. The New York City Medical Examiner later determined the child had suffered a traumatic brain injury with the cause of death ruled to be blunt force impact to the head.
Following his court appearance on Dec. 9, Wright was released on $100,000 bail and will return to court on Jan. 27.
The case is being prosecuted by assistant district attorney Kevin O’Donnell and deputy chief of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau and senior assistant district attorney Sapna Kishnani, under the supervision of assistant district attorney Miss Gregory, bureau chief.
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