On the eve of his jury trial on murder and other charges, prosecutors agreed to a bail request for a Merrillville man charged with killing a 21-month-old baby.
The motion for bond was filed Friday in the case of Lavoyd D. Shepherd, 32, who has pleaded not guilty to four felonies in the death of Alena Ferguson, his girlfriend’s child.
Defense attorney Scott King had filed a petition to let bail on behalf of Shepherd, which was denied in July after a series of hearings where evidence was presented. A few days later, King filed a request for a speedy trial, which had been scheduled to begin Tuesday in Lake Superior Court.
Instead of going to trial, Shepherd was released on a $5,000 cash bond posted on his behalf.
Court records indicate the baby was with her mother and Shepherd Feb. 20 and at Shepherd’s apartment in Merrillville. The child vomited at 10 p.m., then drank some juice and went to sleep, according to the mother’s account to hospital authorities that is outlined in court records. The mother told investigators she heard the toddler “whimpering” and found her unresponsive. Shepherd began CPR and then the couple brought her to Methodist Hospitals Southlake campus in Merrillville, where she was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m. Feb. 21, court records said.
An autopsy found the baby had suffered a skull fracture to the head from blunt force trauma and had numerous bruises on her head, cuts on her upper and lower lips, fresh cuts on her neck near her throat and the back of her neck, according to records.
Shepherd, who gave police varying accounts of what happened, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, aggravated battery, battery resulting in death to a person younger than 14 and battery resulting in bodily injury to a person younger than 14. His new trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 20.
Ruth Ann Krause is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
