Father accused of killing toddler daughter faces judge

By Nadirah Sabir, Peter D’Oench, Nikiya Carrero

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    FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (WFOR) — A Pembroke Pines man accused of killing his 2-year-old daughter Tuesday morning was held without bond on Thursday as he appeared before a judge in bond court.

Jeronimo Duran, 33, listened as it was announced that he could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the death of his child who police say was discovered bleeding from the neck when found at the home that police say Duran lived in with his grandmother.

A judge said Duran would be held without bond on the charge of first-degree murder and $500,000 on the aggravated child abuse charge. He was also ordered to possess no firearms, weapons or ammunition.”

He came to court wearing a protective vest normally reserved with those who might harm themselves. He did not say anything in bond court.

CBS News Miami’s Peter D’Oench spoke with attorney Sergio Cabanas, the suspect’s next-door neighbor.

He says one of his Ring cameras captured Duran arriving at the home Tuesday morning before he allegedly killed his daughter.

Then, the Ring camera captured dramatic images of a police officer running into the home, as well, as paramedics arriving.

Pembroke Pines police said that Duran had been separated from his wife and had brought his daughter to his grandmother’s home at S.W. 177 Ave. and 4th Court. They say his grandmother discovered Duran on top of his daughter when she arrived home and called 911.

Police released a 911 call in which you hear the grandmother pleading for help, saying in Spanish “I think the girl is unconscious. I don’t know what is going on. The girl is pale and not reacting.”

The child was rushed to the hospital but did not survive.

Police could not say if police had received prior calls to the home or if Duran had problems with mental health.

In court filings from May of 2023, the child’s mother Mona Rosita Clarke asked for full custody of the daughter and asked that Duran be drug tested and have a psychological evaluation and asked that the father take an 8-week parenting course and that a guardian ad litem be appointed for the child.

The motion said, “The father suffers from mental illness…paranoia and anger issues (punching the wall)…He also suffers from mental illness… He also suffers from anxiety and has been baker acted a minimum of five times…his behavior is erratic, aggressive, violent and dangerous to the mother and the minor child. The father has abused the family dog (punched it in the face)…the father has suicidal ideations and has a history of hearing voice to end his life.”

D’Oench reached out to the attorney for the mother, but so far has not heard back.

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