The North Little Rock man arrested Friday on a capital-murder charge in the death of his infant daughter wrote a letter to a circuit judge saying he had "caused the injury that resulted in the passing of my daughter," court records say.
Richard Lane Hughes, Jr., 29, was arrested Friday night nearly five months after the death of his 44-day-old daughter, Millie Hughes, according to an arrest report.
Hughes and his wife drove their infant daughter to the emergency room at UAMS Medical Center on May 23, where a doctor reported the infant had "severe trauma to the brain" that is commonly associated with shaken baby syndrome, according to an affidavit for Hughes' arrest.
The infant had swelling in and across her skull, detectives note in the affidavit, and internal bleeding in her brain and eyes, which doctors said was a "non-survivable brain injury."
Seven days after she was taken to the emergency room, the child was taken off life support equipment, the affidavit said.
Richard Hughes was in charge of the child the night before she began showing symptoms, Hughes' wife told police, and their daughter became less responsive and would not eat the next morning, court documents said.
Less than a month later, one of Hughes' relatives told investigators that Hughes fled to north Arkansas and left his wife a note stating, "I am going to run and have a gun in case I am caught," the affidavit said. The note also said Hughes intended to write a letter to Circuit Judge Wiley Branton, which Branton's office received on July 3, court documents said.
The letter addressed to Branton was signed by Richard Hughes and Hughes' wife verified the handwriting on the note was her husband's, investigators said.
Hughes was in the Pulaski County jail as of Tuesday evening with no bail set, according to the jail's roster.
Metro on 10/31/2018