A father in Ohio will spend the next decade of his life in prison after he admitted to fatally suffocating his 4-month-old daughter.
Marcellaus Nekie Malone pleaded guilty on Friday, July 17, to one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of child endangerment through corporal punishment or physical restraint for his daughter’s death in December 2025.
After he entered his plea, Clermont County Common Pleas Judge Jason E. Nagel sentenced Malone, 30, to serve three years in prison for the child endangerment charge and seven to 13 and a half years on the manslaughter charge. Malone’s sentences will be served consecutively.
In exchange for pleading guilty, prosecutors agreed to drop other charges Malone was facing including murder, domestic violence and several additional counts of child endangerment.
Us previously reported that Milford Township Police Department officers responded to Malone’s apartment on December 11, 2025, after they received a report regarding an unresponsive infant.
Upon their arrival, emergency medical personnel attempted lifesaving measures. However, they were unable to save the baby. Malone’s daughter was transported to a local hospital, where she was ultimately pronounced dead.
An investigation was launched into the infant’s death, and it was revealed that Malone engaged in an escalating “pattern of abuse” that lasted for at least two months.
Surveillance footage was recovered from the home, which showed Malone exhibiting abusive behavior towards his daughter. At one point in the footage, Malone told his daughter that she was “going to be a dead baby” and that he would toss her on the bed if she “pissed [him] off.”
Authorities said that the infant was “particularly fussy” on the night that Malone killed her. The child’s mother reportedly swaddled her appropriately, and Malone “was the last person to see the baby alive” when he placed her in a bassinet in another room.
Police said that the infant’s autopsy revealed “no other reason for her death” other than a reported “history of occlusion of the nose and mouth by swaddling of the body and head.”
At the time of Malone’s arrest, Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve described the allegations as “unthinkable.”
“Children are our most precious gifts. It is unthinkable that this innocent child could have been treated in such a callous and evil manner,” he said, according to a statement obtained by Law & Crime. “This Office is dedicated to holding accountable those who would do such unspeakable violence to our county’s most vulnerable.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
