Father accused of murder pleads not guilty

Man’s 2-month-old daughter died in September; bail has been increased to $2M

A Canyon Country father accused of murdering his 2-month-old daughter in September pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him on Monday.

Marcel Taylor, 26, was arrested Thursday in connection to the death of his daughter, Jelani Taylor, at the hospital on Sept. 29, a few days after she had been taken by paramedics from a home on the 18000 block of Grace Lane in Canyon Country shortly after 3 a.m.

He has been formally charged by prosecutors with one count each of murder and assault on a child causing death, according to Ricardo Santiago, a spokesman for the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office.

He is scheduled to return once again on Dec. 2 for a preliminary hearing setting. During a preliminary hearing setting, the judge and opposing counsels agree on a date for a preliminary hearing — when the bench decides whether there’s enough evidence for the case to go to trial.

Although Taylor was initially booked and held in lieu of $1 million bail, his bail has now been increased to $2 million.

Officials have previously stated that the homicide investigation stems from a call they received early in the morning on Sept. 26 on the 18000 block of Grace Lane involving an unresponsive 2-month-old Jelani Taylor.

After the infant was rushed to the hospital by paramedics, L.A. Children’s Hospital officials confirmed to The Signal that Jelani Taylor had died on Sept. 29 at 10:07 a.m.

Within a few hours of the baby’s death, L.A. County Sheriff’s Department officials confirmed that they were investigating the baby’s death and would be conducting interviews to determine what exactly happened at the Canyon Country home that morning.