Teen who didn’t want to be a dad nearly beats 16-month-old daughter to death

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A Brooklyn teenager who didn’t want to be a father had a breakdown on Father’s Day that led him to nearly beat his 16-month-old daughter to death.

Nylah Lewis, the little girl, was taken to Maimonides Medical Center, where authorities said that she was suffering from bleeding on the brain, multiple skull fractures and bruising on her face, legs and over other parts of her body. The toddler needed a blood transfusion, and the injuries were so severe that a prosecutor said early on Tuesday that she was not expected to make it through the next 24 hours.

Shaquan Taylor, 19, was spending some time with his daughter on Father’s Day when he sent a message to Nylah’s mother telling her to come get her because there was a problem. The 17-year-old mother arrived to see the bruised little girl struggling to breathe and grabbed her up to leave, but Taylor followed her and knocked her to the ground with one punch while she was still holding the toddler.

The baby was passed off to a friend, who gave her to an EMS when they arrived to the scene, while Taylor chased the mother as she tried to flee the apartment building. He reportedly bruised her face and then hid in the bushes.

Responding officers arrested Taylor after a chase and charged him with felony assault and acting in a manner injurious to a child younger than 17.

Taylor at first claimed that he had not beaten Nylah, saying that she had fallen off the bed and then saying she fell off the toilet, but doctors told police that her injuries were not consistent with injuries from a fall.

“He said that about a year ago he was going to hit the baby if she brought (her) around,” said Christine Munford, the baby’s 13-year-old aunt. “And (Sunday) he threatened her and said he was going to punch her in the face when she got there. And then obviously that happened.”