Man pleads guilty to 2nd-degree murder in baby’s death
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A 37-year-old man on Friday pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree murder in connection with the death of his 7-week-old daughter.
Gregory Higgins entered the guilty plea against the advice of his attorney, David A. Torres. He faces 15 years to life in prison at his July 18 sentencing hearing.
Torres said afterward the plea was Higgins’ choice.
“He did not want to proceed to jury trial because he did not want his family to relive the experience of losing their daughter,” the attorney said. “He is and has been remorseful for his conduct.”
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On Sept. 15, 2021, police were dispatched to a report of a baby not breathing at a home in northwest Bakersfield. She was rushed to a hospital, where doctors found skull fractures and bleeding on the brain, police said.
The baby, who had Down syndrome, died at the hospital.
Higgins told police he was home alone with the baby while his wife and their two other children went to McDonald’s to pick up lunch. He said the child started fussing in her bassinet and he held her.
The baby gasped and stopped breathing, Higgins said according to court documents. He said he performed CPR for two minutes then called 911 and received further instructions as emergency responders were dispatched.
He told police the child vomited as he continued CPR.
Police performed a records check and found Higgins had no history of domestic violence or child abuse, and no contacts with Child Protective Services, the documents say.
Reinterviewed, Higgins said the month before he bumped the baby’s head on a glass table while removing her from the bassinet, according to the documents. He said the injury was minor.
The baby’s injuries might have been unintentionally inflicted when he performed CPR, Higgins told police.
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