Over two and a half years after his month-old daughter died from blunt-force injuries to her head and chest, a man pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse in Hamilton County Criminal Court on Friday, according to a news release from the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office.
Ivan Dominique Dunton waived his right to a trial by jury and, as part of a plea agreement, was sentenced to 25 years in the state prison without parole eligibility.
When Chattanooga police arrived at a residence in the 2100 block of Raulston Streeton on March 4, 2019, they found the child lying face-up on the carpet with Dunton over her frantically saying, “She’s not breathing.” The baby girl was rushed to a hospital and soon pronounced dead.
Dunton initially told police his daughter fell down a flight of 13 steel and concrete stairs at his apartment in the 2200 block of East 27th Street while partially strapped into her car seat. He said he believed his leg must have hit the car seat and knocked it down the steps before attempting to find the victim’s mother, who left the house after an argument with Dunton that morning.
He changed his story when police confronted him with evidence.