BENTON, Mo. (AP) - Court records say man charged in the death of a 2-year-old told the girl's mother that he had been "playing around" and seeing how long the toddler and her sibling could hold their breath.
The Southeast Missourian reports that 25-year-old Raymond Bradley Dejournett is jailed on $25,000 bond on charges of abuse or neglect resulting in death and child endangerment. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.
The affidavit says the girl was covered with what appeared to be bruises when authorities responded Saturday to a home near Benton. She was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The affidavit says a sibling told investigators, "Daddy held sissy under water and when she came up she was dead." The affidavit says Dejournett described what happened as a "terrible accident."