‘A very tragic incident': Pembroke Pines man accused of murdering 2-year-old daughter

A father arrested in the killing of his 2-year-old daughter in a Pembroke Pines home is facing a first-degree murder charge.

Jeronimo A. Duran, 33, is also facing an aggravated child abuse charge in the toddler's killing.

Pembroke Pines Police discussed the case at a news conference Wednesday, a day after the killing of Melody Alana Rose Duran.

"It's a very tragic incident and our hearts go out to the family of the victim and at this time we're just focusing on being able to provide justice to her family," Sgt. Jason Palant said.

Palant said the incident began Tuesday morning when officers and fire rescue crews responded to a home in the 400 block of Southwest 177th Avenue for reports that the 2-year-old wasn't breathing.

First responders began life saving efforts as the child was rushed to a local hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Palant said the toddler had a laceration to her throat and said a knife that investigators believe was used in the incident was found, but said the medical examiner will determine her official cause of death.

Duran and the child's mother had a parenting plan that allowed time sharing, and Duran had picked the girl up in the morning and brought her to the home, Palant said.

According to an arrest report, Duran's grandmother arrived at the home and found Duran lying on top of the girl in the kitchen and yelled at him "get off, what are you doing?"

The grandmother then saw that the girl was "blue in color and discolored" and called 911, the report said.

In the audio released Wednesday by police, she's heard screaming and crying as a dispatcher tries to get her to explain what's going on.

"The girl is pale, she is not reacting," an interpreter, who is translating the grandmother's Spanish, tells the dispatcher.

"I just got here, please send an ambulance," the grandmother says. "...I think the girl is unconscious. I don't know what's going on."

"Based on the info we have so far, she arrived at the residence and saw the suspect on top of the 2-year-old child and noticed the child didn’t appear to be breathing at which time she called for 911," Palant said.

Duran got onto his knees and was kneeling over his daughter, and that's when the grandmother noticed the girl was bleeding and "ran to her room as she did not want to observe anything further," the report said.

The grandmother said Duran stayed in the kitchen and didn't speak, just stayed silent.

Duran's stepfather arrived at the home and gave the girl CPR until police and fire rescue arrived and took over, the report said.

The report said detectives found a stainless blade black handle steak knife on the kitchen floor that had blood on the handle and blade. The report also said the kitchen floor was covered in blood.

Duran was taken into custody at the home.

"He was questioned by detectives, he spoke with detectives and through his statement it helped establish the probable cause for his arrest, however we don't have a motive at this time," Palant said.

Duran was booked into jail, where he remained held without bond Wednesday.

Court documents show Duran was in a custody battle with the mother of his child in which he admitted to having mental health issues.

Last year, the mother responded to a petition filed by Duran for custody which stated that "the father suffers from mental illness including paranoia and anger issues (punching the wall). He also suffers from anxiety and has been Baker Acted a minimum of five times."

The record went on to say Duran's behavior is "erratic, aggressive, violent, and dangerous to the mother and minor child."

It also said Duran had "suicidal ideations" and had stopped taking his meds.

In another document, Duran admitted he had mental health issues.

Palant said detectives spoke with the toddler's mother, and are investigating Duran's history.

First responders who tried to save the 2-year-old's life were receiving counseling after the incident, Palant said.