An Ohio man has been charged with aggravated murder in the suffocation death of his 4-month-old daughter, prosecutors said, concluding a nearly two-year investigation into an incident that authorities allege began with a parent’s frustration over a crying infant.
Chance Terrence Topp, 28, was charged after a local grand jury returned a 13-count superseding indictment against him, according to court records seen by Law & Crime.
Among the charges are aggravated murder, strangulation, domestic violence, reckless homicide and falsification, along with two counts each of murder, involuntary manslaughter and endangering children.
Deputies responded to a report of an unresponsive infant at a home on Crestview Drive in Utica around 7:32 p.m. on October 13, 2023, according to a news release from the Licking County Sheriff’s Office.
Emergency personnel transported the child to Licking Memorial Hospital, where staff noticed what they called suspicious injuries on the infant before she was pronounced dead, police said.
Topp had been watching his daughter while her mother was at work, according to reports.
The Independent has reached out to a legal representative for Topp for comment on the charges.
Court documents obtained by Columbus CBS affiliate WBNS indicate Topp initially told investigators he had been asleep, heard the baby gasping for air and removed her from her crib to perform CPR, though he did not call 911.
The investigation challenged that account.
Relatives told detectives they heard the infant screaming and confronted Topp inside the home, shouting, “What did you do?” as reported by local NBC affiliate WCMH.
Topp allegedly rejected their help. Family members also reportedly told police that Topp regularly stayed up late playing video games, consumed alcohol and was consistently inattentive to the child.
The trial follows a monthslong investigation during which Topp was initially uncooperative, according to Assistant Prosecutor Tyler McCoy. McCoy told reporters that the suspect repeatedly misled detectives during multiple interviews before confessing to the killing after his arrest.
An autopsy conducted by the Licking County Coroner’s Office ruled the death a homicide caused by asphyxia, noting red marks on the child’s neck and bruising along her jawline. Toxicology reports reportedly revealed the infant tested positive for delta-8 THC. Topp later admitted to smoking the substance in the child’s room, officials said.
Investigators claim that Topp, frustrated by the child’s crying and wanting to return to sleep, used excessive force to hold a pacifier in her mouth, suffocating her.
“This has been a long investigation by the Licking County Sheriff’s Office,” McCoy said, according to Law & Crime. “Mr. Topp has been interviewed multiple times and showed deceptive conduct and made deceptive statements throughout the interviews and once he was arrested he did in fact admit he put too much force on the baby’s mouth with the pacifier and she went unresponsive.”
The child’s grandmother, Amy Richter, provided a statement to WBNS mourning the loss.
“We just want people to know that she was a happy baby,” she said.
“This world lost so many smiles when he took her from us,” Richter added.
Topp is being held at the Licking County Jail on a $200,000 bond. His trial is scheduled to begin on July 27.
