A Bridgeport man was brought to the state Superior Court in Milford on Thursday, facing charges of risk of injury to a child and cruelty to persons. According to a court official, he was the last person to have seen the infant, who was later found deceased in a local motel bathtub.
A man named Dale Kirkland, aged 31, was apprehended in Bridgeport on Wednesday following the discovery of an infant in a bathtub at the Mayflower Motel in Milford.
The incident occurred around 11 a.m. when a member of the cleaning staff made the distressing finding. According to a news release, first responders performed life-saving measures at the scene, but unfortunately, the baby was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead less than an hour later.
Court documents and the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner have confirmed that the baby in question is his three-month-old daughter, Leilani Kirkland. The cause of the infant’s death could not be determined immediately, and further studies will be required, according to a spokesperson for the medical examiner.
According to family court documents, Kirkland was pursuing full custody of the child due to concerns about the mother’s mental health. According to custody papers filed in court in late July, he had informed the state Department of Children and Families about the situation.
Officials from the DCF have confirmed, in a statement released on Thursday, that they had been working with the family for approximately a month before the tragic incident occurred.
“Our hearts go out to the family, friends, and all those affected by this heartbreaking incident,” expressed DCF Commissioner Jodi Hill-Lilly in an email, acknowledging the challenging circumstances faced by law enforcement and medical personnel who responded to the situation.
An official stated on Thursday that the state’s Office of the Child Advocate is currently conducting its own preliminary review of the incident. As per state law, the OCA is responsible for investigating the deaths of children who have received services from a state agency.
In a news release on Thursday, Milford police shared that the investigation into the death of Kirkland uncovered that he had been renting the room and checked out on Wednesday morning.
According to authorities, Kirkland arrived at the motel with the infant on Tuesday evening and checked out on Wednesday.
Kirkland was apprehended by Bridgeport, Milford, and Connecticut State Police in Bridgeport at the intersection of East Main Street and Berkshire Avenue at 7:30 p.m., as confirmed by Tiadora Josef, a spokesperson for the city of Bridgeport.
The warrant for his arrest has been kept confidential for a period of 14 days.
Kirkland has been residing in Connecticut for approximately nine months while employed full-time at FedEx, as stated by a bail commissioner to the judge.
“These are very extremely serious allegations, about as serious as you can get, and does involved the death of a child,” Judge Auden Grogins said.
The judge maintained Kirkland’s bond at $1 million and instructed for mental health and suicide watches to be implemented, along with a competency evaluation. There is no record of any criminal activity in his past.