Prosecutors say the infant suffered catastrophic brain injuries after being violently shaken. Dontaevian Marques Murray remains jailed on $2 million bail following the arraignment hearing held in Seattle.
Murray was charged on September 18 in connection with the death of his daughter, who died September 12 at Seattle Children's Hospital. According to KING 5, emergency responders took the girl to Seattle Children's Hospital on September 4, where she remained for eight days before she died.
Court documents cited by the station say Murray told detectives he found the girl pale, with blue lips and difficulty breathing shortly before 3 a.m., and that he picked up and shook or bounced her before getting his mother, who began CPR. Doctors later found bleeding around the girl's brain and behind her eyes, along with severe brain swelling and herniation. Court documents said hemorrhages were found throughout multiple layers of both eyes, while hospital specialists found no fractures, and the medical evaluation did not identify a natural or accidental explanation for the severity of the injuries.
Severe Injuries in the Case
The scale of the trauma is central to why Murray faces a murder charge rather than a lesser count.
Emergency responders were dispatched shortly before 3 a.m. on September 4 to a residence on South Findlay Street for the unresponsive infant, the station's report says. Murray reportedly told homicide detectives he found the infant pale, with blue lips and difficulty breathing.
Bail Set at $2 Million
Murray remains jailed on $2 million bail.
The girl's mother urged the court to weigh the family's circumstances before making further bail decisions, saying that losing her daughter has affected every part of the family's lives.
What Washington Law Says About the Charge
Washington law addresses second-degree murder under RCW 9A.32.050. Murray has pleaded not guilty.
A Broader Pattern of Infant Head Trauma
Abusive head trauma, which includes what is commonly called shaken baby syndrome, is described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a leading cause of child abuse deaths in children under age 5, typically occurring when a caregiver violently shakes or strikes an infant out of anger or frustration. The agency's data shows as many as 25% of infants who suffer this kind of trauma die from their injuries, while nearly all survivors face long-term consequences such as vision loss, developmental delays, or severe physical disabilities.
Whether the family had prior contact with state child welfare services remains an open question in the case. Under RCW 74.13.640, the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families is required to conduct a formal child fatality review whenever a death is maltreatment-related and the family received state services within the preceding 12 months, according to the agency. DCYF reported in August that 18 reviewable critical child welfare incidents occurred statewide in the first half of 2026, down from 57 recorded in all of 2025.
