An Ohio father, Christopher Evans, 35, has been arrested and charged with murder, felonious assault, and child endangerment in connection with the death of his newborn daughter, Naomi. The 24-day-old infant was found unresponsive in their Cincinnati home on September 1 and later died from injuries that included a skull fracture and bleeding in the brain.
Prosecutors have drawn parallels between Naomi's death and a 2015 case involving Evans's infant son, who was three weeks old at the time. According to court documents, the boy suffered the "exact same injuries" as his sister. In that case, Evans pleaded guilty to assault and child endangerment in 2017 and was sentenced to prison, though he served most of his time on house arrest. He was released in 2024.
During court proceedings on Friday, prosecutors highlighted the disturbing similarities between the two cases. A detective testified that the circumstances were shockingly alike. In the 2015 incident, the infant son was found unresponsive with a blue face and lips. Medical staff suspected child abuse, and an investigation by the Warren County Sheriff's Office ensued. Evans reportedly told detectives he had been "bouncing the baby too hard" and confessed to throwing his son onto a changing table, causing a head injury.
Evans's attorney has argued that diagnosing child abuse can be difficult and pointed to potential biases in medical evaluations. The attorney cited scientific literature questioning the reliability of diagnosing abuse versus accidental injury and suggested that such injuries might be treated differently based on family background.
Following Naomi's death, a GoFundMe page was created by an individual named Chris Evans, seeking donations for funeral arrangements. The Daily Mail has contacted GoFundMe to confirm if the organizer is the same person as the accused father.
Evans is currently being held at the Hamilton Justice Center on a $2 million bond. His next court date is scheduled for September 21, and the case is expected to be presented to a grand jury within the next 10 days for formal charging.