Father charged in death of 3-month-old baby
Bridgeport man to face new charges after child found dead in Milford motel
MILFORD — New charges will be filed next month against a Bridgeport man whose threemonth-old daughter was found dead in a Milford motel last week.
Dale Kirkland, 31, is charged with risk of injury to a minor and intentional cruelty to persons in connection with the Aug. 22 death of his daughter, Leilani Kirkland.
Kirkland, who has been held in lieu of $1 million bail since his arrest in Bridgeport last week, hours after the discovery of his daughter’s body by cleaning staff at the Mayflower Motel, appeared at state Superior Court in Milford Wednesday before Judge Kevin Russo.
Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Howard Stein told the judge that prosecutors still were waiting for a final report concerning the baby’s cause of death from the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Once the report is in, Stein said he anticipated filing new charges against Kirkland, without being more specific, and asked the judge to continue the case to next month.
“We should be in a position to finalize any new charges by the next court date,” he said.
Kirkland is scheduled to return to court Sept. 26.
Kirkland’s attorney, Public Defender Claud Chong, did not address the possible new charges during Wednesday’s appearance,
but agreed to postpone a competency examination ordered during Kirkland’s first court appearance until at least next month.
“After meeting with Mr. Kirkland, I think it’s appropriate to have the examination done,” Chong said.
An autopsy did not immediately determine the infant’s cause of death and more studies are needed, a spokesperson for the medial
examiner said last week.
The specific circumstances that led up to the infant’s death remained unclear. An arrest warrant affidavit has been sealed for 14 days following Kirkland’s arrest, and several investigations related to the case are underway.
Kirkland was seeking full custody of the child based on her mother’s mental health, family court documents stated. He had notified the state Department of Children and Families of the situation, according to custody papers he filed in court in late July.
In a prepared statement Tuesday, Jodi Hill-Lilly, commissioner of the state Department of Children and Families, said the agency had been “involved with the family” for about a month prior to the baby’s death and would work with police in their probe.
“Consistent with our standard practice, we have already commenced an investigation to evaluate our work,” Hill-Lilly said. “This review will include our knowledge about the family, supports provided, casework decisions, adherence to policy and best-case practices, as well as communication with multiple community stakeholders who were involved with the family.”
Officers were called to the Mayflower Motel in the 200 block of Woodmont Road last Wednesday after a member of the motel’s cleaning staff found the infant around 11 a.m., Milford police said. Kirkland had checked into the hotel with the baby and was the last person to see her alive, according to police.
First responders performed lifesaving measures at the scene and took the infant to a hospital. The child was pronounced dead less than an hour later, police said.
That evening, officers with Bridgeport, Milford and state police took Kirkland into custody at the corner East Main Street and Berkshire Avenue in Bridgeport, after he had been identified as a “person of interest” in the case.