Couple held in death of 4-year-old

A Spokane couple are in custody for the late Saturday death of the man’s 4-year-old daughter, the apparent victim of severe physical abuse.

Police say the child died about midnight Saturday after her father rushed her to the emergency room at Deaconess Medical Center.

The father and the child’s stepmother had custody of the girl and lived in the Dresden Apartments at 707 N. Monroe St., said Spokane police Cpl. Tom Lee.

After the child died, investigators questioned the father and stepmother and arrested them on suspicion of first-degree murder, Lee said. They were booked into the Spokane County Jail Sunday morning and are expected to make an initial court appearance today.

The man is 28 years old; the stepmother 32, according to Lee.

The names of the victim and the couple were withheld until the child’s mother had been contacted. Lee said the mother, in her early 20s, was last living in Poulsbo, Wash.

The cause of death is uncertain, pending an investigation by medical examiners.

When the father brought his daughter to the hospital, medical staff found extensive injuries, said Lt. Scott Stephens, a detective with the city’s major crimes unit.

Medical staff contacted police when the child could not be resuscitated. Stephens said they found the injuries “were more extensive” than what the father had described.

“They apparently covered a large portion of her body,” said Stephens.

The couple also are parents of an 8-month-old who was placed in the care of Child Protective Services early Sunday, said Stephens.

While the cause of death has yet to be determined, police believe “this is not an accidental and not a natural death,” Stephens said.

“This is tragic,” he added, saying investigators regard child abuse deaths as among the most painful to deal with.

Investigators will try to determine whether the couple’s neighbors may have heard indications of possible abuse.

That investigation also will try to determine whether the child’s injuries resulted from one event or from an ongoing pattern of possible abuse, said Stephens.

Police said the father has no apparent criminal record.