Man charged with killing his daughter

DA: Murder charges have changed from third-degree to first-degree in 10-month-old’s death

DOWNINGTOWN » A Downingtown father is accused of intentionally killing his infant daughter by allegedly giving her anti-psychotic medication, according to investigators.

The Chester County District Attorney’s Office announced on Monday that the murder charges against Jamal Bailey, 41, of Downingtown, have changed from third-degree to first-degree for the murder last year of his 10-monthold daughter, Lynail Bailey.

The Chester County District Attorney’s Office said Downingtown police responded to Bailey’s home on Lancaster Avenue on April 26, 2017 and found the baby unresponsive, with a lightcolored mucus coming from her mouth and nose. As an officer began CPR, first responders noticed that Lynail showed signs of rigor mortis. She was later pronounced dead.

Bailey told investigators that Lynail was napping when he fell asleep too. He checked on her when he woke up because she was not crying, which he described as unusual, according to officials. When she didn’t wake up, he called 911.

An autopsy revealed that Lynail died from quetiapine intoxication. Quetiapine, brand name Seroquel, is not approved for children or infants. Bailey told police he is prescribed Seroquel, an antipsychotic medication which can be prescribed for treatment of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression and anxiety.

Bailey told authorities he never gave the medication to his daughter, according to the criminal re-

port written by Downingtown Detective Andrew Trautmann and Chester County Detective Jim Ciliberto. However, according to the report, hair samples from the victim showed that Lynail had been ingesting the medication for at least 30 to 45 days before her death.

Bailey stated his daughter could have been exposed to the medication by reaching for the pill bottle from her crib and opening it. He told investigators that may have happened the night she died, according to the report. Investigators found the pill bottle on the dresser and not the bed where she had napped at the time, and Bailey later told police that he moved the pill bottle prior to their arrival.

According to officials, Bailey also told investigators that his daughter may have been exposed to the medication if he inadvertently mixed the drug into her formula, or because the pills were spilled throughout his home. He believed she may have picked up a pill and put it in her mouth because he saw her do that twice before and he stopped her. He admitted to investigators he did not “baby proof” his home and he had his pills scattered throughout his home, including under the couch, on the bathroom floor and on his bed.

Bailey had allegedly deleted his search history from his cellphone a few hours after investigators left his home following the death of his daughter. Detectives served a search warrant in May and found Bailey’s Google search records from March 1 to April 27, 2017. Investigators said he reportedly searched for how long it takes for drugs to leave the human system, how long it takes for a body to decompose, child abuse by suffocation, and more.

Bailey told investigators his daughter was not a good sleeper, which caused him to be tired and his medication made him sleepy. Bailey told police he became the sole caretaker of his daughter on Feb. 6, 2017, when her mother said she could not take care of their daughter. The two of them did not have any contact during those two months until after Lynail died, according to police.

Visit Daily Local News staff writer Ginger Rae Dunbar’s blog about journalism and volunteering as a firefighter at FirefighterGinger.blogspot.com.

Jamal Bailey