A teen father from Arkansas smothered his baby girl before trying to revive her by shocking her with a live extension cord, police confirmed in a report on Wednesday.
Tyler Buchanan, 19, was arrested and charged on Monday with capital murder in his daughter’s death, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
The 2-month-old baby girl, named Paisley, died on June 12 after Buchanan allegedly suffocated her as he tried to stop her from screaming so that he could sleep.
Buchanan reportedly initially told police that the baby woke up around 5:30 that morning, and he fed her with a bottle before she went back to sleep.
He said that when he woke up later, the baby was not breathing, so he cut off the end of an extension cord and tried to use it to shock her back to life.
Buchanan then later told police that he held the child’s head against his shoulder to stop her from breathing as she kept screaming and he wanted to sleep.
The 19-year-old acknowledged his deed, the Gazette reported, citing a probable cause affidavit.
Buchanan also allegedly admitted to smothering the baby around 2 a.m. but didn’t say anything. The mother of the child called police around 9 a.m. when she woke up to see the infant not breathing.
Buchanan’s neighbor, Tricia Dewberry, said to KFSM-TV that “he loved the baby,” calling her “a gift baby, an advanced baby.” She added that he “showed the baby off and let me play and hold the baby.”
Now facing a capital murder charge, Buchanan reportedly could face the death penalty or life in prison, says the report.