Joseph Napier, Indian River County dad charged with killing baby by shoving wet wipe down her throat (to stop her from crying) as Florida father is charged with manslaughter.
At least he got the baby to shut up …. A Florida father has been arrested in the choking death of his 2-month-old daughter after investigators concluded that he allegedly stuffed a wet wipe deep down the baby girl’s throat to muffle her crying — only to then try blaming the infant’s toddler sister.
Joseph Napier, 30, of Vero Beach, Florida, was charged Friday with aggravated manslaughter of a child more than two years after the death of his daughter, Iris Noelle Napier.
Officials said that Napier was the only person present in the house who could have shoved the napkin so far down the youngster’s throat, minutes after he was allegedly overheard by a relative yelling at the baby, ‘Why can’t you shut the f— up?!’
In the other room neglecting children
On May 28, 2021, deputies with the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office descended to Napier’s home in the 1500 block of 6th Avenue following reports of an unresponsive baby.
First respondents found Napier inside doing chest compressions and took over efforts to revive the infant. Efforts to remove the obstruction were unsuccessful.
The girl who was ‘turning blue,’ was transporting her to a hospital, according to a press release from the sheriff’s agency. Despite all the life-saving efforts, the baby died.
During the preliminary investigation, Napier told deputies his daughter choked and ‘he could only see a small white object in the back of her mouth.’
The dad then claimed that he left Iris unattended on a couch with his 18-month-old daughter for about 10 minutes.
‘We know that he was in the other room neglecting these children way longer than that,’ Sheriff Eric Flowers told reporters during a press conference announcing Napier’s arrest.
Dad blamed 18 month old sister for 2 month old baby’s choking death
When he returned to the room, Napier discovered his baby choking and in distress — but investigators said that he still waited 5 minutes before calling 911.
During an exam of the baby, a wet wipe was removed from deep within the child’s throat.
Officials said that is what caused the fatal airway obstruction.
The sheriff’s office has concluded that the only person present at the time who could have placed the wipe that deep in the baby’s throat was Napier — contrary to his claims that his 18-month-old daughter was to blame.
Detectives worked with Orange County medical examiners to get measurements of the infant’s mouth and throat and later took measurements of the toddler to see if it was possible for an 18-month-old to force an object into the child’s throat.
They found her hand could not fit into the child’s mouth past her knuckles and only her middle finger could enter any distance into the mouth area. The wet wipe, once removed, was 8 inches long and 4 inches wide.
Medics prove that neither the baby or her infant sister could have shoved the wet wipe down that far her throat
‘We’ve proven that that’s not possible,’ Flowers said. ‘[Napier] put that wipe in that child’s mouth. He pushed it down far enough that this child choked. It took doctors going deep into this child’s throat with forceps [to get it out].’
During initial investigations, detectives asked doctors if a 2-month-old could have ingested a wipe, and were told, ‘a child this small does not have the motor function … to pick up the wipe, consume it and swallow until … it could not be seen.’
One doctor said she did not believe a baby could inhale an entire baby wipe, and at that age of development infants have a ‘tongue-thrust reaction’ to remove things from their mouths versus swallowing them.
An 18-month-old, the doctor told deputies, ‘would not have had the fine motor skills’ or patience, and ‘only an adult could have forced a wipe not only into (her) mouth, but all the way down her throat.’
Flowers said he believed Napier was tired of hearing his daughter’s incessant crying.
On the evening of the Iris’ death, the children’s mother was working a shift at a local restaurant and left Napier, the children’s father, to watch them both.
Her surviving daughter, now aged 4, is currently living with other family members.
Flowers said he would have liked to charge Napier with a homicide, but there was not enough evidence to show that he intended to kill his daughter.
Napier is being held at the Indian River County Jail on a $750,000 bond. An arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 19.
