TOLEDO, Ohio — A man is facing murder charges following the death of his five-month-old niece.
Ronnie Nelson, 33, was arrested and charged with murder on Wednesday.
Toledo Police arrived at Nelson's home at Willow Brook mobile home park on South Ave. on Monday and found 5-month-old Ava Pope unresponsive.
According to a police report, Ava's mother dropped her off at Nelson's house, where he lives with his wife, around 6:30 a.m..
Nelson was babysitting both Ava and his daughter alone when he went to go check on his daughter.
The police report says Ava was in her rocker chair laying flat and asleep, but when Nelson returned, Ava was not breathing.
Nelson called 911 around 10 a.m. and the dispatcher advised Nelson to start CPR on Ava.
Police say when Nelson attempted CPR, discharge and blood came out of Ava's nose.
Ava was treated on the scene and transported to UTMC where she later died.
The Lucas County coroner found the cause of death to be "abusive head trauma." The manner of death has been ruled as homicide.
Nelson is being held on a $1 million bond and will appear in court on March 19 at 9 a.m.
This investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 419-255-1111.
