A Florida man, Joseph Troy Napier, 30, has been arrested and charged with manslaughter following the death of his two-month-old daughter, Iris Napier. The infant died more than two years ago after choking on a baby wipe that was allegedly shoved down her throat by her father. The local sheriff made the announcement on Monday.
The incident occurred in Vero Beach, Florida, on May 28, 2021. After a two-year investigation, Napier was arrested last Thursday and is currently being held at the Indian River County jail on a $750,000 bond. Sheriff Eric Flowers stated that he would have charged Napier with homicide if there had been sufficient evidence to prove that Napier intended to kill his daughter.
According to Sheriff Flowers, Napier was frustrated with his daughter’s crying. He said, “He’d had enough of the crying. This is not a good guy. He’d had enough. We’ve lost a 2-month-old infant. Our team has done a great job of proving that he had enough that day. He put that wipe in that child’s mouth. He pushed it down far enough that this child choked. It took doctors using forceps to go deep into this infant’s throat.”
Napier, who was the only person at home with Iris and her sibling when the incident occurred, claimed that his 18-month-old daughter put the wipe in the infant’s mouth. Iris’ mother was at work at the time of the incident. The sheriff did not identify the mother but mentioned that she has a drug problem and has been arrested.
The investigation into Iris’ death began immediately after Napier called 911 to report that his infant was unresponsive. When deputies arrived at the scene, they found Napier and his daughter, who was “turning blue.” Despite the life-saving efforts of the deputy who performed CPR and rushed the baby into an ambulance, Iris did not survive.
During the preliminary investigation, Napier told deputies that he left Iris unattended with his 18-month-old daughter for about five to ten minutes. When he returned to the room, he found the infant choking. He admitted that he waited five minutes to call for help. Detectives later found that Napier had left the children alone for longer than he claimed and that he had spent at least 30 minutes on his cell phone, making his timeline inaccurate.
Medical experts consulted during the investigation stated that a 2-month-old infant does not have the motor functions to consume a wipe and “swallow until the point it could not be seen.” They also stated that a 2-month-old would still have the extrusion or tongue-thrust reflex, which helps prevent infants from choking. This reflex would have made it difficult for the baby to inhale the wipe unless it was forced.
Based on the evidence gathered and in consultation with medical physicians, it was determined that the only person present at the time of the incident who could have placed the wipe that deep in the child’s throat was Joseph Napier. The baby wipe caused an airway obstruction and resulted in her death.
Iris’ maternal grandfather, Joe Miller, who also spoke at the news conference, agreed with the sheriff’s findings. He believes that Napier killed the girl because he couldn’t handle the crying. Iris’ sister, the 18-month-old who is now almost four, has been placed in the care of a family member.