A weekend child abuse arrest in Janesville is now a homicide investigation.
Janesville Police Chief David Moore said the Rock County District Attorney’s Office will charge 30-year-old Steven Horan with first-degree reckless homicide in the death of a 15-month-old girl.
Police said Horan was taking care of the toddler Friday night, when the girl’s mother returned home to find the child beaten and not breathing.
During Horan’s initial court appearance Monday afternoon, assistant district attorney Rich Sullivan said the girl was brain dead and being kept on life support. Police confirmed she was pronounced dead later on Monday, and an autopsy was underway on Tuesday.
Investigators are still piecing together the timeline of the incident. Lieutenant Charles Aagard said the girl’s mother had finished work at 8:30 p.m. and returned home, but she left home again and later came back and called police just after 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
Horan and the mother had been dating for at least three months, and police believe he had been left with the child on his own in the past.
Officers determined Horan was drinking alcohol Friday night, and the girl suffered blunt-force trauma, but officers don’t believe any instrument was used in the assault.
Janesville police held a press conference about the homicide investigation Tuesday afternoon, which you can watch in its entirety on the WCLO Facebook page.
