Man Faces Mandatory Life In Prison In Death Of 3-Year-Old Child
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The man accused of killing his girlfriend's 3-year-old child appeared in court Tuesday morning.
Denny Llopiz, 27, faces first-degree murder charges in the death of Skylar Hartley.
Llopiz was ordered held without bond. It was revealed in court that Skylar was two weeks shy of her 4th birthday.
The judge in the case said "I'm finding that there is probable cause and also a preliminary finding that there is proof evidence and presumption great to hold him with no bond,"
If convicted, Llopiz faces mandatory life in prison with no hope of parole.
Skylar's mother could not be reached for comment.
On Friday morning, August 3rd, Miami Beach police, and fire rescue responded to Llopiz's home on the 1100 block of Washington Avenue after getting a 911 call about a child being unresponsive.
Miami Beach fire rescue tried to revive the Skylar on scene and then transported the child to Mount Sinai Hospital where she later died, according to police.
The arrest report says Llopiz had left the child in the shower after she defecated on herself. He then said that after several minutes the child did not respond to his calls and that he found the child unresponsive and not breathing in the bathroom.
The mother had left the child with Llopiz while she went to work, according to the arrest report.
After working the case through the weekend, it was determined that the Skylar sustained blunt force trauma a few hours prior to her death, police said.
Skylar suffered deep tissue injuries from her head down to her legs, including a ruptured liver, ruptured lung, and three broken ribs, according to the arrest report.
The Florida Department of Children and Families has also opened an investigation into Skylar's death.