VAN BUREN -- A man used an extension cord to try to shock his 2-month-old daughter back to life after police say he smothered her to stop her crying, a probable-cause affidavit said.
Tyler Buchanan, 19, went before Crawford County Circuit Judge Gary Cottrell for a probable-cause hearing Wednesday. Cottrell ordered Buchanan held in lieu of $1 million bond in the Crawford County jail on a charge of first-degree murder.
No formal charges were filed Wednesday. Van Buren police spokesman Jonathan Wear said the investigation of the baby's death will continue.
Wear said Buchanan smothered the infant about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday then cut the end off an extension cord and used it to try to revive the baby.
"Buchanan admitted that he knew the child stopped breathing around 2:30 a.m. and he knew that holding the child's head against his shoulder caused the child to stop breathing," Van Buren police officer Wes Marsh wrote in the affidavit.
Buchanan did not call for help after the infant died, the affidavit said. Wear said when the child's mother awoke at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Buchanan was holding the girl in his hands and told the mother their daughter was not breathing. She called 911, Wear said.
Police and emergency medical personnel responded to the call for help at 1112 Baldwin St. The infant was transported to Sparks Hospital in Van Buren where she was pronounced dead.
The affidavit said Buchanan told police initially that the child woke up around 5:30 a.m., he fed her a bottle and put her back to sleep. He said he woke up later and discovered the baby was not breathing. He also admitted trying to shock the baby's heart with the extension cord.
Later, Buchanan admitted to smothering the baby, according to the affidavit. Buchanan told police the infant was screaming and that he was trying to get the baby to stop screaming so he could sleep, the document said.
State Desk on 06/14/2018