REPUBLIC COUNTY – A Kansas father accused in the death of his 3-month old daughter is now in a jail in Kansas.
Just before 7p.m. Thursday, 23-year-old William McLaughlin of Belleville was booked into the Republic County Jail, according to online jail records.
On Thursday morning McLaughlin was arrested in Nebraska on a KBI warrant for first-degree murder and felony abuse of a child. The charges are connected to the death of McLaughlin’s three-month-old daughter.
On Christmas Day, the infant was initially brought to the Republic County hospital. She had suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead in an Omaha hospital on Dec. 29.
Following the arrest, McLaughlin was booked into the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Jail in Nebraska. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the arrest. Republic County authorities have not set the date for McLaughlin's first court appearance.
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REPUBLIC COUNTY – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating a suspected child abuse case in Belleville.
On Thursday morning, the Belleville Police Department contacted the KBI to investigate after an unresponsive three-month-old infant was transported from the Republic County hospital to a hospital in Omaha, Nebraska.
The child’s parents brought her to the Republic County hospital on Dec. 25, and hospital staff later contacted the Belleville Police Department.
A pediatrician at the Omaha hospital indicated the child has no brain activity due to severe injuries she had sustained. Late Thursday afternoon, KBI reported the infant remains on life support.