2 years after baby girl killed, her father is accused of murder using 'powerful sedative'

A 2-month-old baby girl was killed more than two years ago in Washington and now officials say the girl’s father has been accused of giving the baby a powerful sedative, which caused her death.

On Aug. 10, 2019, police said a man called 911 after he was assaulted by his neighbor, who he said was holding his crying baby at the time.

Police headed to the apartment building and tried to get in touch with the neighbor, but he had returned to his apartment with his 2-month-old daughter, authorities said.

Officials said police spoke to the baby’s mother while she was at work and she headed home to open the apartment door for police.

Once inside the apartment, police said they found the baby face down on a bed and not breathing. Police took her outside to be treated by medics. However, she died soon after arriving at the hospital.

An autopsy was done on the child and determined she died from acute ketamine intoxication, The Seattle Times reported. Ketamine is a strong sedative sometimes used by medical personnel to alleviate extreme pain.

After investigating, it was determined no medical personnel administered ketamine to the baby, so the medical examiner changed the manner of death to homicide in September, according to authorities.

Officials said the baby’s father, 40-year-old Daniel McCraw, had “exclusive control of the child” while her mother was at work and “the child was given ketamine during this time period,” The Seattle Times reported.

More than two years after her death, McCraw was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter, officials said.

The murder charge alleges the baby died during the commission of an assault or an attempted assault. Prosecutors said the death was a crime of domestic violence against a particularly vulnerable victim, court records showed.

For the manslaughter charge, authorities alleged McCraw recklessly caused the baby’s death, also against a vulnerable victim and family member.

McCraw was arrested on Nov. 1 and booked into the King County Jail on a $1 million bond, police said.