Dad smothers baby daughter then tries to revive her by shocking her with cord
A 19-year-old Arkansas father was accused of smothering his newborn baby to death, as reported by People.
Tyler Buchanan was charged with one count of capital murder and is currently being held in the Crawford County Detention Center on a $1 million bond.
The incident took place on June 12. The magazine reports that Tyler wanted to sleep but was unable to do so because his 2-month-old daughter, Paisley, kept crying. In order to ensure that his daughter stops crying, he allegedly confessed to holding his daughter’s head against his shoulder to stop her from breathing. The affidavit also notes that Tyler told the police that he was aware his actions were wrong.
The affidavit further notes that the incident took place at 2 am but it wasn't until 9 in the morning that the incident was brought to the attention of police. Tyler's wife woke up and found out that their daughter was not breathing and immediately called 911. When medical officials arrived at their Van Buren home, Tyler initially told the authorities that he heard the baby crying at around 5:30 am and woke up to give her a bottle so she would go back to sleep.
However, he later confessed that the incident took place long before that.
He further added that when he discovered the baby was not breathing he cut off the end of an extension cord and attempted to use it to shock her back to life.
The incident came as a shock to the neighbors, who told TV station KVSM that he was a loving father.
"He loved the baby, he did talk...and he said the baby was a gifted baby an advanced baby, he showed the baby off and let me play and hold the baby." said next-door neighbor Tricia Dewberry.
The baby was pronounced dead at Sparks Hospital in Van Buren. The police also said in their statement that the baby had been deceased for several hours before they were contacted.
"The evidence is showing us that she was actually smothered sometime during the middle of the night," said Detective Jonathan Wear. The family has even started a GoFundMe page for Paisley in order to raise money for the funeral costs. With the goal of $1,000, the page has since generated $910.
"Paisley was taken from us to early. She was born April 5th and her life was taken by her own father on June 12th. Her Mother is a strong woman that has overcome a difficult past she has 2 other children to care for. Her work does not offer insurance she can afford so there is no way to pay for this funeral except out of pocket. Please help us give this baby a funeral she deserves." reads the description.