Jurors are picked and ready to hear proof in the trial of a 37-year-old man accused of killing a 3-year-old girl.
Rhasean Lowry is charged with first-degree felony murder, aggravated child abuse and child abuse in the August 2014 death of 3-year-old Tatiana Emerson.
Police said investigators "determined" that Lowry had severely beaten Emerson before driving her to Parkridge hospital on Aug. 26, 2014.
Lowry claimed she'd injured her head when she fell down a flight of stairs at the Econo Lodge on Bonny Oaks Drive, records show.
Lowry said he was returning to the place with Tatiana and a six-month old and told Tatiana to go upstairs while he fished her milk bottle out of the car. At the top of the stairs, he said, Tatiana lost her balance and fell to the bottom.
Police said doctors at T.C. Thompson believed the injuries weren't consistent with a fall.
Lowry pleaded not guilty this morning in Hamilton County Criminal Court after attorneys selected a jury. His trial is expected to last throughout the week before Judge Don Poole.
He was originally indicted on two more charges - rape of a child and false reports - but prosecutors dismissed those counts this morning, court records show.
The child's mother, Melanie Emerson, also faces a pending criminal case for aggravated child endangerment.