PIQUA — A Piqua man facing charges after reportedly slamming a 1-year-old girl on the floor, causing a skull fracture, has changed his plea.
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Michael Mayor, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of murder on Thursday, according to Miami County Common Pleas Court documents.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed two counts of murder, one count of felonious assault and two counts of endangering children.
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Mayor entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity in February, according to a previous News Center 7 report.
His sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 5 and he’s facing 15 years to life in prison, according to court records.
As previously reported by News Center 7, Piqua police and EMS responded to reports of a toddler who was breathing but not responsive on Dec. 5.
A babysitter told dispatchers that a 1-year-old girl was “pale, had bruises on her head, and she was unsure of where they came from,” according to a Piqua police report.
The toddler was flown to Dayton Children’s Hospital for treatment. A doctor there later told police that she had suffered a fracture in the rear of her skull, had a subdural hematoma, and other “complex” injuries that were caused by a “massive impact.”
The toddler had been dropped off at the babysitter’s on the morning of Dec. 5. The babysitter left her with Mayor and other kids to take some of the children to school. While the babysitter was gone, Mayor had reportedly tried to put the girl for a nap on the bedroom floor. When she got back, the girl was on the bedroom floor and appeared to be sleeping.
The babysitter checked on the girl multiple times during the day and noted she appeared to be okay and breathing, but was concerned that she had not woken up by 3 p.m. At that point, she tried to wake the girl up and found that she was unresponsive.
Police spoke with prosecutors, and they decided Mayor should be arrested and charged since he was the last person with the child.
While being interviewed by police, Mayor admitted to injuring the child after she wouldn’t stop crying while he was trying to put her down for a nap.
“He stated he ‘shook’ her and when she cried louder, he began to ‘slam’ her on the floor of the bedroom,” the police report stated. “He stated this was not done on the blankets and he did this several times until she stopped crying.”
Mayor thought at that point that she had fallen asleep, so he put her down and walked away.
We will continue to follow this story.
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