The father of a baby girl who died after she was found submerged in a tub in a Milford hotel room in August has now been charged with murder.
The investigation started on Aug. 21 when a staff member at the Mayflower Motel went into a room to clean it and found a baby submerged in a child’s bathing tub, according to an arrest warrant.
Police found the little girl in grave medical distress and Milford firefighters responded.
They tried to save the little girl and transported her to Yale New Haven Hospital where she died, according to police.
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The baby’s father, 31-year-old Dale Kirkland, was initially charged with risk of injury to a minor and cruelty to persons. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
He was in court on Tuesday for a pre-trial hearing. He now faces additional charges including murder and murder with special circumstances.
The arrest warrant for Kirkland says that surveillance video showed him walking into the motel room with his baby daughter just after 7 p.m. on Aug. 20 and then leaving the room without her at 8:38 a.m. on Aug. 21.
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During the investigation, police spoke with a motel guest who told them that she had seen Kirkland a week before the baby died.
He appeared “disheveled,” the baby was dirty and in a dirty diaper and Kirkland was asking for cigarettes and drugs, according to the arrest warrant.
Kirkland remains in police custody on $1 million bond.
