A 10-month-old baby has died after allegedly being sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend.
Benjamin Taylor, a 32-year-old from West Virginia, was arrested and charged with first-degree sexual assault – a charge reportedly likely to be upgraded to murder after the death of baby Emmaleigh Barringer.
Her mother, Amanda Adkins, woke up in the early hours of the morning to find her baby unclothed and bleeding on the floor.
Taylor had reportedly been with the baby and was seen “wiping something” off his groin area, which was later determined to be blood, WSAZ reported.
Police said when they interviewed Taylor he changed his story multiple times and claimed he had “blacked out” while doing laundry and did not know how the injuries occurred.
Deputies said it was “the worst case of sexual assault they have seen in two decades”, Kutv reported.
“The only way justice is going to be served is if he feels every ounce of pain that he caused her too,” Danielle Adkins, Ms Adkins first cousin, told WSAZ.
“It wasn’t enough that he took her innocence, he had to take her life too.”
Emmaleigh passed away in hospital and a GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover her medical and funeral expenses.
The page has already raised over $19,000 (£15,000).
Taylor is being held at South Central Regional Jail on a $2 million (£1.6 million) bond.