MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A 25-year-old man was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after a child died from being physically abused, the Marion County Sheriff's Office says.
Travis Thompson is charged with first-degree murder while engaged in aggravated child abuse.
The investigation began back on May 3, when the Marion County Sheriff's Office received multiple reports from Advent Health Waterman in Tavares, Florida, in connection to a toddler in the emergency room in critical condition, the sheriff's office said in a news release.
Although medical staff made many attempts to save the toddler's life, she died, authorities say. Thus, an investigation into her death began.
Major Crimes Detective Chase King later learned that Thompson "physically abused the toddler while she was in his care, which resulted in her spine being completely severed."
Thompson told investigators he and the toddler were in separate rooms before he heard a loud sound and found the child unresponsive and taking shallow breaths, a press release explains. He did not immediately call 911, but waited for the toddler's mother to arrive and then drove to the hospital.
On the way to the hospital, the child's mother called 911 when the toddler stopped breathing altogether, the sheriff's office says.
Months later on Sept. 1, the medical examiner's office determined the toddler's cause of death to be traumatic injuries to the child's torso with a severing of her spine and internal bleeding behind her organs.
"Based on the severity and nature of the break, it was determined that Thompson applied significant, gradual force to the victim’s upper and lower body from the front with a fulcrum point on her lower back," the news release says.
Thompson was taken into custody for further questioning on Sept. 8. The sheriff's office says when Thompson was questioned about the new discoveries, he still claimed that he did not know how or why the toddler had died.
He was subsequently placed under arrest and transported to the Marion County Jail where he is being held without bond. Additionally, Thompson is on misdemeanor probation for failure to comply with an injunction to prevent child abuse.
