A Florida couple accused of fatally shaking their infant daughter went on to play Call of Duty afterward, prosecutors have alleged.
Robert Lee Ingram Jr., 22, and Gracie Jai Tellez, 20, were taken into custody last Friday by US Marshals in Jacksonville in connection with the death of their seven-week-old baby last October at their home in Hollywood, according to the Marshals Service.
The pair were charged on July 27 with aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect following an investigation by the Hollywood Police Department.
Ingram and Tellez initially told authorities that their daughter had been given a bottle and put down in her bassinet for a nap shortly before they discovered she was unresponsive.
But investigators said phone records showed the couple’s devices were used to play Call of Duty and watch YouTube videos shortly before the 911 call was made, according to an affidavit reported by Local10.
The parents had claimed to police that their phones were being used for FaceTime as improvised baby monitors, the reported affidavit said.
The emergency call concerning the infant was placed at about 11.53am on October 14.
According to the affidavit, however, Ingram’s phone was being used to play Call of Duty until 11.49am, while Tellez’s phone remained on the game until 11.52am.
Gracie Jai Tellez, 20, and Robert Lee Ingram Jr., 22, have been charged with causing the death of their seven-week-old baby daughter last October. They were arrested on Friday
The little girl was found unresponsive at a home on the 2220 block of Farragut Street in Hollywood, Florida
The affidavit said that the ‘forensic downloads show[ed] the information provided by Gracie Tellez and Robert Ingram was not truthful,’ per the outlet.
Ingram would have also played Call of Duty overnight, from about 5.12am to 8.39am, in the hours before the death.
The couple’s baby daughter was rushed to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood after police officers and paramedics performed CPR on her at Tellez’s home in Hollywood. The one-bed, one-bath property is valued at roughly $365,000.
The affidavit claimed that investigators believed the size and layout of the home would have meant that the parents would have effectively known about what caused their daughter’s injuries.
Both parents were interviewed by detectives, who searched their residence with consent as the little girl lay in critical condition with signs of possible internal bleeding, according to the US Marshals.
The infant was declared brain dead last October 18 and died after being removed from life support four days later.
Her death was caused by complications of blunt head trauma and ruled a homicide, according to the Broward County Medical Examiner.
Tellez and Ingram were deemed responsible by homicide investigators and arrest warrants were subsequently issued for the couple on July 27 by the Circuit Court of the 7th Judicial Circuit in Broward County.
Their daughter was considered healthy prior to her death and had been seen by a pediatrician last October 8, per the affidavit reported by Local10. That would have been just six days before she was found unresponsive.
Ingram, seen during his first appearance in court on Friday, is being held without bond, as is his partner, Tellez
The parents were allegedly playing Call of Duty in the minutes before their daughter was found unresponsive
At the children’s hospital, doctors found that the child had a traumatic brain injury, as well as skull fractures, retinal hemorrhaging and detachment, according to CBS12.
Specialists determined that the injuries were consistent with non-accidental head trauma caused by violent shaking.
Police claimed that Ingram had given them differing versions about what had happened on the day the little girl died.
That included details about when his baby daughter had been fed, as well as when she had been placed in the bassinet.
Ingram allegedly reenacted what happened and gave a different version of the events, according to investigators.
The US Marshals said the couple left Broward County for Jacksonville, where they were found by a Florida Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force team.
They were subsequently arrested in the 1300 block of Marsh Grass Court and booked into the Duval County Jail.
The little girl was rushed to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood in critical condition. She was declared brain dead last October 18 and subsequently died
The accused parents were extradited to Broward County on Thursday, where they are still being held.
As of Saturday, Tellez was being held without bond at the Broward Sheriff’s Office North Broward Bureau, according to Broward County Sheriff’s Office arrest records viewed by Our News Outlet.
Meanwhile, Ingram was being held without bond at the Paul Rein Detention Facility in Pompano Beach, per the arrest records.
Ingram and Tellez invoked their right to remain silent when they appeared in court on Friday, according to CBS News.
They were ordered to have no contact with children during their initial hearing, per the outlet.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Broward County State Attorney’s Office for comment.
