November 27, 2007
LINCOLN PARK — Her first name is "Heaven" spelled backward.
And that's exactly where those who knew and loved the little girl who was born three weeks premature say she's now resting.
Nevaeh Richardson was 8 days old when she was rushed to Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital on Friday. Bleeding from the nose and mouth and with trauma to her rectum, she died about 24 hours later. With the 9-day-old's death now ruled a homicide, investigators are working around the clock to find her killer.
Nevaeh's father, Christopher Ryan Richardson, 21, of Lincoln Park, is a suspect, along with others who were in the family's house in the 1400 block of Cicotte at the time the infant was injured. Police say Nevaeh likely was sexually assaulted.
While the homicide case is being investigated, Richardson is behind bars, accused of beating up his live-in girlfriend. He was arrested for domestic violence, third offense, for allegedly attacking the baby's mother as the couple drove the child to the hospital.
Richardson was in 25th District Court on Monday, where Judge David Zelenak ordered him held on a $100,000 cash bond pending a preliminary examination of the evidence against him. That hearing is set for Tuesday. If convicted of the felony, he faces up to two years in jail and a $2,500 fine. "I'm not guilty," Richardson said in court, before later requesting a court-appointed attorney and a lie detector to prove his innocence.
Police Chief Thomas Karnes said the infant's mother awoke early Friday and found Nevaeh lying on her chest, covered in blood. The young couple, who lived with Richardson's mother and stepfather, went to Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital at about 1:55 a.m. with the child and grandparents. A 911 call was not made. During the short drive, Richardson is accused of slapping his girlfriend across her face, grabbing her by her hair and threatening her should the baby die.
After doctors assessed the infant's condition, they notified police and transported Nevaeh to Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. She died at about 2:25 a.m. Saturday. Richardson's mother, Adie Green, called police after witnessing her son assaulting his girlfriend in the back seat of her car. She said her son has an alcohol and drug problem and was drunk on the early morning in question.
"I'm not supporting him," she said yesterday. "I'm more concerned about the baby. She came from heaven and now she's back there. I don't understand how anyone could do something like this to a child." As the incident occurred so close to Thanksgiving, Karnes said, there could have been people coming and going from the family's house. Everyone who was in that home is being questioned and no one has yet been ruled out as a suspect in the child's death, Karnes said.
Police initially seized the infant's bedding and some of her diapers from the house in hopes of obtaining evidence, Karnes said. Officers returned Monday night and removed a curling iron and a hair straightening iron. While he hasn't officially been named as a suspect, the investigation is focused on Richardson because of his criminal past. "I'm not foolish enough to ignore that," Karnes said.
Richardson has two prior convictions for domestic violence and is on probation for a controlled- substance conviction in Roscommon County, court records show. He also has been arrested at least two other times on domestic violence charges, but those cases were dismissed when the alleged victim failed to show in court. The girlfriend in question is the same woman in at least one of those cases.
Police Detective Lt. John Martin said his department is learning new information about the case every day. "All of this stuff kind of ties together," he said. "We're still putting a lot of pieces together."
Karnes — a father of three and president of the Michigan district's Exchange Club, whose primary mission is to prevent child abuse — said this case has been especially hard for him to handle.
"This is a terrible crime," he said. "It's the worst thing I have ever come in contact with and it's the worst thing I've ever heard of."
