INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indianapolis man pleaded guilty to murder Friday for killing his girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter by repeatedly slamming her against a wall.
Freddie Bailey, 27, was arrested in December 2014 following the death of 3-year-old Amabel Calderon.
Amabel was taken to Riley Hospital for Children with multiple severe injuries, including retinal hemorrhages and bruises over her entire body. An autopsy determined her head injuries were consistent with being violently hit against a wall, while many of her bruises were consistent with bite marks.
She was declared brain dead a few days after her admission to Riley, and her mother, Maria Calderon, then 24, and mother’s boyfriend, Bailey, were arrested on charges of neglect and battery.
According to prosecutors, Bailey admitted to police that he had bitten Amabel, including on at least one occasion when he picked Amabel off the ground and into the air with only his teeth.
Police also accused Bailey of the abuse of two other children, a 1-year-old and a 5-year-old, that occurred in the same hotel room where Amabel received her injuries.
PREVIOUS | Police: More kids abused in toddler death case
On Friday, Bailey pleaded guilty to murder and two counts of felony battery. The plea agreement calls for him to spend the next 77 years in the Indiana Department of Correction.
“The torture and murder of Amabel is without question one of the most horrendous and senseless crimes we have witnessed during my seven years in office,” Prosecutor Curry stated. “By this resolution, Freddie Bailey will appropriately spend the majority, if not all, of his life in prison.”
Amabel’s mother, Calderon, accepted a plea agreement in April 2016 on a charge of neglect of a dependent resulting in death. The terms of her agreement call for her to be sentenced to 40 years, with 20 years served in the Indiana Department of Correction and five to be served in community corrections.
MORE FROM THE CRIME BEAT | The ‘Grundy Crew’ has a long history in Indianapolis. It may have caught up with them. | PC: Man murdered over missing drugs belonging to the ‘Mexican Mafia’ | Why are .40-calibers surging in Indy as crime guns? | Message written in blood leads IMPD to murder suspect | MAP: 2017 Indianapolis Homicides
