ORLANDO, Fla. – An infant spent nearly nine months in the hospital fighting for her life before she died, and now her father is facing a murder charge in connection with her death, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Ezequiel Mercado, 28, was home alone with his 6-week-old daughter Jayli Mercado on Dec. 9, 2015 when the infant stopped breathing and had to be taken to Florida Hospital.
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Mercado told deputies he was holding the girl, trying to rock her to sleep, when she tensed up. Mercado loosened up his arms and Jayli relaxed. Jayli started to gasp for air so Mercado loosened up the blanket she was swaddled in, but the baby went limp and stopped breathing, a report said.
Jayli was in critical condition in the intensive care unit when detectives arrived at the hospital.
Doctors said there was no evidence of trauma or abuse, but deputies knew something was amiss, according to Orange County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Jane Watrel.
"If you read the report it indicates that there were no visible signs of trauma, yet this girl was having trouble breathing," Watrel said. "Our detectives knew something was wrong."
A spokesman from the Department of Children and Families said the agency did initiate a child abuse investigation, but the findings of that investigation could not be released to the media.
According to the autopsy report Jayli died because of complications of blunt force trauma.
Mercado was charged with aggravated child abuse on Dec. 16, 2015. He was out on bond when Jayli died on Aug. 28, 2016. She had been hospitalized for nearly nine months, since she was first admitted on Dec. 9, 2015, deputies said.
After the girl's death, detectives started a new investigation.
"Our detectives wanted to find out why she died and they wanted to make sure no one was responsible, so they brought in experts," Watrel said. "The medical examiner did his examination and we had an expert come in and a neuropathologist and based on those results we now have Mr. Mercado indicted for first-degree murder."
Authorities would not provide information on the autopsy results that led them to issue a warrant for Mercado's arrest on March 21.
Mercado was arrested Tuesday and had his first court appearance Wednesday. A judge ordered that he be held without bond.
Watrel said the Sheriff's Office is determined to seek justice for the victim.
"(Detectives) were not going to let a child die in Orange County without finding out why and if it was a homicide, they were going to charge someone in a homicide, and that's what happened in this case," Watrel said.