PORT ANGELES — A Forks man was charged Tuesday with the murder of his infant daughter.
Izaiah Jamal Calloway, 20, was charged in Clallam County Superior Court with second-degree murder and second-degree assault of a child.
The 7-week-old victim, Faye River Raven Yates, died at a Tacoma hospital Sunday after she was assaulted early Thursday morning, Port Angeles police said.
Both charges contained vulnerable victim and position of trust enhancements that could lengthen Calloway’s prison term, if he’s convicted.
Calloway is expected to enter a plea to the charges at his arraignment at 9 a.m. April 3.
Port Angeles police alleged that Calloway assaulted the baby at his home in the 200 block of Fir Avenue in Forks early Thursday because the baby would not stop crying.
Calloway allegedly slapped Yates, squeezed her and threw the infant against a chair.
Calloway said he heard the baby’s head strike an exposed piece of wood paneling on the chair, according to the affidavit for probable cause.
Yates, whose heart stopped beating during the assault, was resuscitated at Forks Community Hospital and airlifted to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma, Port Angeles Deputy Chief of Police Jason Viada said.
Yates died at the Tacoma hospital Sunday, Viada said. She was 48 days old.
Calloway allegedly confessed to the assault during a Thursday interview with Tacoma police, court papers said. Calloway is being held in the Clallam County jail on $750,000 bail.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brent Basden allowed for the filing of the charges against Calloway in a 10-minute court hearing Tuesday.
Calloway appeared in court on a video conference feed from the jail wearing an orange jump suit, answering Basden’s questions with “yes, sir” and “no, sir.”
Basden signed orders preventing Calloway from possessing firearms if he posts bail or having any contact with Yates’s mother.
“After speaking with the mother of the child,” Clallam County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michele Devlin said, “she indicated that she is fearful of Mr. Calloway and would like a harassment/no contact order.”
Port Angeles police assisted Forks police in the investigation as part of a major incident response team, Viada said.
An autopsy was performed Tuesday at the King County Medical Examiner’s Office in Seattle.
Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney/Ex-Officio Coroner Mark Nichols said he attended the autopsy with a member of the Port Angeles Police Department.
Nichols said he expected preliminary information from the autopsy later this week.
Yates died at the Tacoma hospital shortly after she was “taken off the machines” at about 9:11 p.m. Sunday, Port Angeles Police Officer Erik Smith said in a supplemental arrest narrative.
A death diagnosis provided by critical care physician Dr. Dawn Joseph found that Yates had “non-accidental trauma, status post out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and multiple traumatic injuries including diffuse cerebral edema, subdural hematoma, multiple rib fractures, clavicle fracture and pubic ramus fracture,” Smith said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
