After his 6-month-old daughter died, Reginald Demarcus Johnson reportedly offered a novel explanation.
He said the child's twin brother might've caused little Jordan's skull fractures and bleeding on her brain, according to DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James, who brought the Ellenwood man to trial this week.
Evidence from medical experts and investigators suggested the amount of force needed to cause such injury could've come from "smashing on a table or other flat surface or an adult stomping the baby's head," the DA's office said.
The jury found Johnson, 36, guilty of felony murder and cruelty to children in the April 2015 death. The DA didn't release a motive.
Johnson told emergency workers he had woken up to find Jordan unresponsive with the twin brother on top of her. His attorney, LeeAnne Lynch, said the father maintains his innocence.
"We presented expert testimony showing baby Jordan could have been injured outside her father’s care," Lynch told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an email Thursday. "We will continue to fight the charges through the appeals process."
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The DA called Jordan's death "tragic and horrific."
“It is our responsibility as parents to do everything in our power to protect our most precious commodities … our children," he said in a news release. "So to forcibly damage such a young child – then try to blame her twin brother – is repugnant and inexcusable.”
Johnson faces life in prison and will be sentenced at a later date.
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