MILFORD, Ohio — A Clermont County man was indicted for murder Tuesday in connection with his 4-month-old daughter's death, Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve said.
Tekulve said Marcellaus Malone, 30, was indicted by a grand jury on one count of felony, one count of involuntary manslaughter, one count of domestic violence and seven counts of endangering children. All of the charges are related to the death of his infant daughter.
On Dec. 11, 2025, the Milford Police Department responded to an apartment for an unresponsive 4-month-old. First responders transported the child to the hospital, but the infant could not be revived, Tekulve said.
After the child's death, investigators found a pattern of abuse that went back at least two months.
Tekulve said they discovered a video of Malone making threats to his daughter, telling her that she was "going to be a dead baby." In the video, Malone also said he'd toss his daughter on the best if she "pissed (him) off."
Investigators also found that when the 4-month-old would cry, Malone would tightly swaddle her, including her head, as a punishment to the point where she couldn't breathe and would pass out. Malone told his daughter that if she wanted to stop being swaddled like that, she'd have to stop crying, Tekulve said.
On at least one occasion, Malone punched his daughter in the face for crying, causing a significant bruise, investigators found.
The night the infant died, she was particularly fussy, Tekulve said. The infant's mother swaddled her correctly, and Malone placed the child in a bassinet in an adjacent room. He was the last person to see the baby alive, Tekulve said.
An autopsy on the infant revealed no other reason for her death, but it documented a "reported history of occlusion of the nose and mouth by swaddling of the body and head" as a contributory cause of death.
Tekulve said if Malone is convicted on all charges, he faces life in prison.
"Children are our most precious gifts," Tekulve said. "It is unthinkable that this innocent child could have been treated in such a callous and evil manner."
Malone was arrested on April 16 for the endangering children charges, according to Clermont County Jail records. He is expected to be back in court on Monday, April 27.
