GRAFTON, W.Va. — An attorney for a Taylor County man charged in the death of an infant told a magistrate Friday his client maintains his innocence.
The defense attorney for Marcus Curtis Lewis told the magistrate Lewis believes his 3-year-old daughter jumped on top of the infant, causing the death.
A Taylor County deputy said during Friday’s preliminary hearing the state Medical Examiner disputes the claim saying the young girl was too small to cause such massive injuries.
The deputy testified the autopsy report said the infant died of a traumatic brain injury caused by shaking or being thrown. The baby died about 2 hours after the incident.
The magistrate hearing the case Friday forwarded the charges to the Taylor County grand jury.
Taylor County Prosecutor John Bord said it appears Lewis had the infant because of visitation rights he had from a former boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with the infant’s mother.
Lewis is being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail. A bail hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in Taylor County Circuit Court.